This story was originally published on Nov. 10, 2022. It was included in a year-end list of SI’s best stories of 2022.
Emmanuel Macron hails from the far north of France, but a significant piece of his heart belongs to the south. The politician is a lifelong fan of Olympique de Marseille, the storied Mediterranean club that has been eclipsed in recent years, having won its last national championship, a record-tying 10th, back in 2010.
The wait for an 11th title is all the more agonizing for supporters like Macron, because the team that’s replaced L’OM atop Ligue 1 is its archrival, Paris Saint-Germain. Yet this past winter and spring, in a noteworthy example of choosing patriotism over partisanship, Macron committed himself to extending Marseille’s drought.
