Abstract FR:

The thesis contains three main research subjects : 1. French and German sports media give certain personal characteristics and qualities to the footballers of the other country. Key stereotypes suggest that Germans and French are the exact opposite of each other : discipline, organisation, work, fighting spirit, persistance, efficiency (for the Germans), creativity, passion, mental weakness, spontanity and aesthetic (for the French) - to cite only some examples. These qualities are generalised and transferred to the totality of the respective society. Thus, sports media create a certain "imaginary character" of the German and French people. At the same time, the study analyses various information on the other country given by sports journalists : What are the historical events and experiences, the national symbols and the information about the way of living of the other country that play the most important roles in the collective memory of that neighbouring country ? What is the relationship towards the language of the other ? 2. In both countries, the result of national team provoked a debate on the state of affairs within each society. The study describes and analyses the "black-blanc-beur discussion" in France and the "discussion about economic and political stagnation" in Germany and shows how football and the sports press can influence political and sociological debates within a country - football as a mirror for the state of a nation. 3. The study analyses how both countries "media reacted tho the violent behaviour of several hundred German hooligans in Lens during, which led to French policeman Daniel Nivel being severely injured. What images sprang most readily from the collective memory of the French. What were the reactions of German society ? Furthermore, the study reveals important differences in French and German sports journalism - for example, the significantly different styles of live TV football commentary to be found in both countries