As Michael Cooper noted in The New York Times, the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise,” has emerged as a symbol of defiance and hope in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris last week.
On Tuesday, France will play its first major sporting event since the attacks, a friendly soccer game against England at Wembley in London. In soccer, national anthems at sporting events are not always respected by opposing fans. But for this game, English supporters will be encouraged to sing along in solidarity.
It may be a stirring moment of peaceful unity between two nations with a rivalry dating to Agincourt.