French connection: New Orleans and Paris’ shared history in spotlight before Saints-Steelers game

PARIS (AP) — The NFL found a good match between team and international host when the Pittsburgh Steelers played in Dublin last year. Pittsburgh has strong Irish connections, notably with the Rooney family that owns the team.

It might have gone one better this time.

The New Orleans Saints are in Paris, which has imposed curfews following street protests, to play a regular-season game in France for the first time in NFL history. Coincidentally, it’s against the Steelers.

Before they square off at Stade de France on Sunday, here’s a look at some links between New Orleans and Paris:

What’s in a name?

Louisiana is named for Louis XIV, who became king of France in 1643. Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle had claimed the land for the French colonial empire in 1682.

The French established the city of “La Nouvelle-Orléans” in 1718.

With Napoleon Bonaparte short of cash in 1803, the U.S. paid a mere $15 million for the Louisiana Territory, which today comprises much of the central part of the country.

New Orleans famously has a French Quarter, and French-language expressions like “Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the good times roll)” still exist, even if touristy.

French President Emmanuel Macron strolled the streets of the French Quarter during a 2022 visit.

Fleur-de-lis symbol

The fleur-de-lis, or lily flower, is one of the most recognized symbols of New Orleans. It’s the team’s logo and has always been on the Saints’ helmets.

For hundreds of years, it was the symbol of the French monarchy.

The Louisiana state fact book notes: “The first official flag of Louisiana was the French fleur-de-lis raised by Robert Cavelier de La Salle at the mouth of the Mississippi River in 1682 when he claimed the lower river valley for France.”

The fleur-de-lis was notable during the slave trade. Under Louis XIV, a 1685 edict called the Code Noir (Black Code) said enslaved people who tried to escape could be branded with a fleur-de-lis as punishment. France abolished slavery in 1848, but the Code Noir language had quietly remained on the books until 2026.

Smooth sounds

New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, and Paris was a happy recipient, starting around World War I. Black American musicians and singers found France more welcoming than the U.S.

Born in New Orleans, jazz soloist Sidney Bechet had moved to Paris and in the 1950s. “He was a major celebrity and a national hero in France, even though the general public in the U.S. never did know who he was,” reads his biography at Blue Note Records.

Cathedral connections

The religious links run deep. When La Salle claimed the region for the Roman Catholic French monarchy in 1682, he “planted a cross,” the Archdiocese of New Orleans notes.

New Orleans is renown for its Mardi Gras celebration marking the end of the Carnival season before the Christian Lent period.

Saints owner Gayle Benson, a New Orleans native and proud Catholic, helps raise funds to restore both the city’s St. Louis Cathedral as well as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The team’s website notes that the franchise was awarded on Nov. 1, 1966 — “All Saints Day — in a city where Catholicism, St. Louis Cathedral and football are embroidered into one seamless garment.”

Saints want to be France’s team

As the NFL has expanded globally — this season there are a record nine international games — the league has allowed teams to claim countries in its “global markets” program.

The Saints are currently the only team with marketing rights in France. The designation lets them sign commercial deals and grow their fan base in the country.

“They’re in good position. They’re becoming France’s team, which is great,” said Brett Gosper, the NFL’s head of Europe and Asia-Pacific.

“I don’t think it will be long before other teams turn up in France, because it’s such a great market,” he added. “The Saints may enjoy it for a while on their own, but I’m not sure how long that will last.”

Don’t forget about Pittsburgh

The Steelers can claim a connection to France, as well.

“Pittsburgh bears the mark of Franco-American history: in the 18th century, the French built Fort Duquesne there, on the territory that would become the future city,” said the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in a social media post this week.

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