French MP blasts bonuses for French failures

French midfielder Samir Nasri reacts after Sweden scored a second goal during the Euro 2012 football championships match Sweden vs France on June 19, at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. French Socialist lawmaker Olivier Faure on Monday spoke out against the 100,000 euro bonus being paid out to each member of France’s Euro 2012 squad despite their quarter-final exit to Spain.

PARIS - French Socialist lawmaker Olivier Faure on Monday spoke out against the 100,000 euro bonus being paid out to each member of France’s Euro 2012 squad despite their quarter-final exit to Spain.

After the 2-0 loss, midfielder Samir Nasri was involved in a foul-mouthed exchange with a journalist which coach Laurent Blanc admitted had sullied the image of the team just two years after Les Bleus were ridiculed for refusing to train at the last World Cup after Nicolas Anelka was sent home.

“Today, many French people will ask why we pay so much out to people who respect the public so little,” Faure, a close ally of President Francois Hollande, told Europe 1 radio.

The French earned further brickbats in the press when most of them did not greet fans on their arrival back from the competition in Poland and Ukraine, leaving a sour taste among supporters.

“When the French are suffering from things such as a fall in their purchasing power and yet see players pocketing 100,000 euros at the end of this competition before then showing contempt for their public it is very painful,” said Faure, saying fans could expect better from their team.