Eleven players chasing a ball win everyone over. A child gifted at maths is frightening. Why does France celebrate excellence of the feet and distrust excellence of the brain?
Between a football academy funded to the tune of 35,000 euros per pupil per year and maths olympiad training run on volunteer goodwill, the gap in resources tells of a social choice nobody ever dares to name.
On the menu: the story of a word, “elitism”, that became the silent weapon of a collective surrender, and the very concrete price France pays for being ashamed of its brilliant minds.
Find the full transcript of this episode, along with all the sources and plenty more, at: Eleven against one, bread and circuses
