France's English Euro 2016 Anthem Sparks Anger

A French politician has reacted with horror to the choice of a song in English as the official anthem for French supporters at Euro 2016.

The French Football Association chose the song I Was Made For Lovin' You, originally by American rock veterans Kiss.

A cover version for the football competition has been done by French group Skip The Use.

The words have been changed from "I was made for lovin' you, babe" to "I was made for lovin' you, my team" and the clip shows fans with tricolour flags inside a stadium as football players dance to the tune.

Skip The Use's lead singer Mat Bastard told Le Parisien that he hoped the tune would get fans dancing like they did to I Will Survive, the Gloria Gaynor classic which became the national song to celebrate Les Bleus' World Cup victory at home in 1998.

Andre Vallini, Secretary of State for Francophony, was not convinced, describing the choice of song as "very concerning".

He added: "Euro 2016 will be a great festival of sport which is taking place in France and will therefore project the image of our country abroad. And our language too.

"It is therefore incomprehensible that the anthem of the French national team should be in English."

Mr Vallini is also upset that France's entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest - J'ai Cherche, by Amir - contains a chorus largely in English.

"At a time when we are defending the place of the French language in international institutions and especially European institutions... it is incomprehensible that for these two big popular events, the French language has lowered its guard," he said.

Euro 2016 takes place from 10 June to 10 July while the Eurovision song contest takes place on 14 May.