Embroiled in a climate row about the club's excessive use of private aircraft, Paris side PSG on Tuesday got their latest bid for Champions League glory off to a flying start by beating Italian squad Juventus 2-1 at the Parc des Princes. Kylian Mbappé got both Paris goals.
"I was very pleased with the team," said PSG coach Christophe Galtier. "Winning in difficult circumstances can only make us stronger."
Mbappé, along with Galtier, came in for stiff criticism in France in the 24 hours leading up to this game for laughing when asked about the club's decision to travel for last weekend's league visit to Nantes by private jet rather than take a more environmentally friendly train.
Galtier and Mbappé were asked at the pre-match press conference on Monday whether they had discussed an offer from the state railway group SNCF to provide travel for them to away games.
Galtier initially smirked at the idea while Mbappé bent double in laughter over the suggestion -- with the clip quickly going viral on social media.
Paris-Nantes by beach buggy?
"We had a chat with our travel organisers earlier to see if we can travel by beach buggy," Galtier replied sarcastically.
Politicians, climate campaigners and even the prime minister weighed in on Tuesday, condemning both men for being out-of-touch and arrogant at a time when Europe faces an energy crisis and spiralling temperatures linked to climate change.
The controversy began over the weekend when PSG notched up an easy 3-0 away victory against Nantes to stay top of Ligue 1 on their trip to the French city, which is 380 kilometres west of Paris, less than two hours by high-speed train.
The side -- owned by an investment fund of major gas producer Qatar -- boasted on social media that they had made the return trip with shirt sponsors Qatar Airways, but their travel choice was publicly questioned due to its carbon footprint.
The controversy errupted on the day President Emmanuel Macron urged French people to reduce air conditioning levels to save electricity.
Messi's personal mess
Pressure group Attac earlier pilloried PSG's Argentinian star Lionel Messi for his use of private air travel.
"From June to August, Messi made 52 flights with his private jet, amounting to 1,502 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. That's as much as a single French person would be responsible for in 150 years," the action group said.
