For the people of Alsace, a French region close to the German border, local pride is a huge part of life.
Its biggest football team, Racing Club Strasbourg, has galvanised the France-Germany identity even further over the last 16 years. But now the club is engulfed in bitter civil war.
Since going bankrupt in 2011, Strasbourg, who climbed back to the top flight from the amateur fifth tier, built a strong fan-centric culture with former France international Marc Keller as president.
In June 2023, the one-time French champions were bought by BlueCo, a consortium headed by American businessman Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, and became part of a multi-club ownership portfolio alongside Chelsea.