MUSC France: Vive 'Les SMURF'!
The Smurfs was a fictional Belgian comic series featuring small blue creatures who lived in a forest. The members of the France Manchester United supporters’ club, meanwhile, are red, human and, predictably, French.
The branch’s initial name – ‘Les SMURF’ (Supporters of Manchester United in France) – might give those who remember the American TV adaptation of the series a chuckle.
But MUSC France is deadly serious, passing its 20th anniversary last year.
“We’re sending 20-30 fans to Old Trafford every matchday,” club secretary Geoffroy Fisher tells us.
“There is a big and growing demand, even if late fixture announcements make each trip difficult and expensive. But most French fans plan their weekends around United’s matches.
“We try to organise events in pubs, mostly in Paris, though our main difficulty is that France is a very big country, so fans are spread out.
“Our number keeps growing every year, but we don’t have a proper HQ as leading members all live in different areas. Obviously, Paris has a lot of fans, but so do the north-east (near Metz), east (near Geneva) and west.”
France, of course, has its own strong football culture. But Geoffroy says many members prefer to focus on United, even if they also support local clubs, because of the “ultra-centred” scene in France.
The best day in MUSC France’s 21-year history came in 2019, when United beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 in that astonishing Champions League comeback.
“We had a huge amount of fans gathered in a massive place in Paris and also in the stadium,” smiles Geoff. “Both places were rocking... the moment will be engraved forever for French United fans.”
Five years since that night in Paris Video
Five years since that night in Paris
On the fifth anniversary, relive one of our greatest European away wins, as we faced PSG in the Champions League...
Interestingly, PSG are not considered huge rivals, while Arsenal are arguably more disliked than Manchester City among French Reds.
“France perceives PSG like City’s rise – millions of Euros of smoke, but no big history behind it. In France, the main rivalry is with Arsenal, due to the Wenger-Henry-Vieira-Pires-Petit period.
“United’s biggest rival is and will always be Liverpool but, for many of our fans, who became Reds in the 2000s, the biggest rival is Arsenal.”