Nelson Monfort's controversial comparison of footballer pay to firefighters sparks criticism

Former French sports commentator Nelson Monfort appeared on CNews and compared the salaries of top footballers to those of firefighters battling the large forest fires in Gironde. He said, “We are coming out of a World Cup with multi‑billionaires kicking a ball and we have firefighters risking their lives for ten euros per hour,” a remark that was widely criticized as demagogic and inaccurate, noting that there are no multibillionaire footballers. The comment came as more than 2,500 firefighters were deployed to combat the devastating fires in Gironde. Monfort, who retired from France Télévisions after the Paris Olympic Games, has been making occasional appearances on opinion channels despite limited expertise on the subject.