Just crowned and already at the Elysée. Estelle Nze Minko and her partners were entitled to congratulations with great fanfare from Emmanuel Macron on Monday evening, the day after a superb world title obtained in Denmark. Undefeated throughout the competition, the French women’s handball team was indeed received by the President of the Republic. On their arrival in the courtyard of the Élysée, the Bleues and their coach Olivier Krumbholz received his congratulations, as well as those of his wife Brigitte Macron and the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, before winning a tent which had been erected for the occasion at the rear of the palace.
“My wife and the minister are very happy to welcome you here for this third world title. There, very clearly, you are making history,” declared Emmanuel Macron in particular. After 2003 and 2017, Les Bleues won the world Holy Grail by beating the formidable Norway (31-28) in the final. But, as the President of the Republic noted, they “did not simply win a grand final”. “You had a great competition and, something unprecedented for you, without ever losing a match, so hats off to you! », he confided, before adding that this victory also went to their coach Olivier Krumbholz, whose “unique record” at the head of this team he praised.
“You are going to wreak havoc at home”
This third world star bodes well seven months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where the French players will defend the gold medal won in Tokyo in 2021. “We will be there for the coach’s next medal and yours and this medal , with lipstick [que les Françaises ont mis après la finale à Herning dimanche]we want her at home,” the President of the Republic told them.
“I have three words to say to you: well done, thank you, and we don’t give up. Now we want the medals for Paris, for our Games. The medal that is won should only be a foretaste of what awaits you,” he insisted. “You have worked miracles in hostile territory, you will wreak havoc at home,” concluded Emmanuel Macron, before sharing a moment with the players and their loved ones. After all, they deserve to savor this immense title before planning on their “supreme objective”, as Olivier Krumbholz described it on Sunday evening.