France vow to arrive in England and stand together in defiance after Paris terror attacks

France vow to stand in defiance in England after Paris terror attacks

FRANCE will arrive in England today after all of their squad - including Lassana Diarra and Antoine Griezmann - vowed to stand together in defiance in the wake of Paris terrorist atrocities.

 

National coach Didier Deschamps offered his players the chance to pull out of tomorrow's friendly match at Wembley, but Les Bleus will travel as one.

Former Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth midfielder Diarra lost his cousin, Asta Diakite, who was one of the 129 victims of the terror attacks in the French capital last Friday.

Griezmann's sister, Maud, escaped the carnage at the Bataclan theatre, where 89 people died after it was stormed by gunmen.

Both players featured in France's friendly win over Germany at the Stade de France - which was also targeted by terrorists - on Friday while the attacks took place.

 



Lassana Diarra's cousin, Asta Diakite, was one of the 129 victims in the Paris terror attacks



Yet Diarra, Griezmann and the rest of their team-mates will defy the extremists and France's team media officer, Philippe Tournon, said: "All the players are coming."

The Football Association was willing to cancel the friendly, but the French Football Federation said it should go ahead as planned.

A huge security operation will now take place at the national stadium and, in addition to doing everything to protect supporters, the words of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, will be shown on the giant screen at Wembley and fans from both countries will be urged to sing in unison.

"We should all show our solidarity by singing La Marseillaise along with the French fans," said Michael Adams of the FA's official England Supporters' Club.

  

Antoine Griezmann's sister, Maud, escaped the carnage at the Bataclan theatre where 89 people died

"It would send out a very powerful sign."

The Wembley Arch will continue to lit up in red, white and blue and the French motto "Liberte, Egalite and Fraternite" ("Liberty, Equality and Fraternity") will also be displayed on screens.

Wembley is expected to be full - 70,000 tickets have been sold to date - and the FA is advising fans to get to the ground early because there will be extra security and additional searches.

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Germany's friendly against the Netherlands tomorrow will go ahead despite the team still being shaken by the deadly attacks during their game in Paris on Friday.

"The message is clear. We will not be intimidated by terror," said interim German FA (DFB) chief Reinhard Rauball. "For the team to play against the Dutch only a few days after the terrible experiences in Paris is a necessary signal."

The Germany players and staff had spent Friday night holed up inside the stadium before leaving straight for the airport on Saturday morning.

"The entire team, players coaches and staff are still shocked," team manager Oliver Bierhoff said in the statement. "But we all know how important it is to send a signal as a national team in favour of our values and culture."