Island Origins

Above, Lilian Thuram on the left, Teddy Riner on the right.

The Tuesday edition of FranceAntilles featured as its leading article what its editors considered the top 10 things Guadeloupe has going for it in a time of economic uncertainty. High on that list was its athletes. While there is quite a long list of high performance atheletes originating from Guadeloupe, two stand out from the rest.

Lilian Thuram was born in Pointe-à-Pitre on January 1st 1973. Thuram is considered by some to be "one of the most successful footballers in the history of the game" (1). He made a name for himself as a dynamic and incredibly performant defender in some of the best soccer clubs in Europe, including Juventus and FC Barcelona. In addition, having been selected 142 times to play for the French national team, he holds the record for France's most capped player. Though his greatest exploit maybe his participation in the 1998 World Cup, where France won 3-0 against Brazil, the favorite. Thuram retired this past summer upon the discovery of a malformation of the heart.

Teddy Riner was also born in Pointe-à-Pitre on April 7th 1989. Riner is a judoka who has exploded into the judo world. He began wonderfully by becoming Junior World Champion in 2006 and in 2008. He made vice champion of France in 2007, and champion the following year. He brought home a bronze during the Olympics in Beijing. For the 2007 World Championships, he won the gold medal for his category (100kg+). His most recent exploit was becoming the youngest judoka to win the gold medal in the 2008 World Championships (all categories). He is 19 years old.

The claim that they are Guadeloupean is an exercise in semantics. While both were indeed born in Guadeloupe, both moved to France métropole soon after. Time actually spent on the island amounts to infancy and school vacations. But If Thuram and Riner are accepted as Guadeloupean by Guadeloupeans themselves, it is perhaps a testament to both their success and their popularity; Guadeloupeans are not always so welcoming. Indeed, those like Thuram and Riner are given a name here: they are called négropolitains. There doesn't seem to be an exact definition: the term négropolitain can define people like Thuram and Riner, that is, those who were born in the Antilles, but raised in France métropole. Or, the term can apply specifically to Antillais who have lived for many years in métropole and who have returned to the West Indies. Or, it can apply to the offspring of Antillais in France. What is clear is that it is usually used in a pejorative sense.

I'm sure no one has ever called Thuram or Riner négropolitains. For winners like Thuram and Riner, there must be some unwritten understanding that if you succeed fabulously, you'll always be welcome.

(1) Soccernews.com