Excitement builds as French fans ready for World Cup final, Bastille Day weekend

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – While the Croatian Cultural Centre will be ground zero for Croatian soccer fans Sunday morning, fans of team France will also have somewhere to cheer The Blues on for the World Cup.

French fans are being invited to a handful of pubs closer to the downtown core.

The action starts on Saturday — which marks Bastille Day, a French national holiday. Crowds are expected to gather that day at the Roundhouse Community Centre before shifting focus to Sunday morning, when groups plan to head to Main Street.

Expect to see a lot of blue, white and red colours

“And chanting,” adds Pierre Touzel, who represents the Assembly of French Citizens Living Abroad. “We have a lot of pretty cool songs to support our team, that our supporters came up with for this year, and the atmosphere is mazing.”

Fans will be flocking to the big screen TVs — which will be on bright and early — at the London Pub, ‘The American’ and at the Ivanhoe, to name a few.

Touzel, of course, anticipates a win, so a party is expected to erupt right after the game.

“All these pubs are strategically located so we can all gather after the game to celebrate if we win — I’m pretty sure we will win. What our team did in this tournament is amazing so we want to celebrate that at the Creekside Park right next to Science World.”

And if you think it’s a little odd that French football fans are going to be filling the ‘London’ Pub, Touzel says it’s all about the game.

“It’s the love of the game, and I’m sure the London Pub is very excited to have us, and so are the other pubs,” he explains. “It really goes beyond the names here, it really is about the football.”

If you plan to join in on the action, Touzel recommends heading down early. “If you come after 7:00 a.m., you won’t have a spot or a seat, because it’s going to be very busy.”

It’s been 20 years to the day since France got their first World Cup victory.

The World Cup match between Croatia and France kicks off at 8:00 a.m. PST.

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