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WORLDNBC News

Memes, Mao and Mbappé: Chinese brands drop soccer star in fury over ‘dictator’ joke

Photo: Pedro Pardo

HONG KONG — He’s one of the world’s most popular athletes, but Kylian Mbappé is suddenly paying the penalty for being on the wrong side of China ’s fervent nationalism.

The French soccer star’s own goal? Suggesting that Mao Zedong , the founding leader of communist China, was a dictator, in comments that revolved around memes portraying Mbappé as an authoritarian figure.

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WORLDFrance 24

French government concessions to students 'tactically shrewd' but risk creating new set of problems

Oliver Farry welcomes Oliver Davis, Professor and Head of the Department of French at University College Cork. According to Professor Davis, the government's handling of the student protests reflects a combination of "tactical confusion" and an inadequate response to deeper structural problems. Davis cautions the concessions offered to secondary school students merely "scratch the surface." Meanwhile, France's widening protest movement has extended well beyond the classroom, drawing in the Yellow Vests, trade unions and people from across French…