Euro 2016 - France unifying around 'Generation Griezmann'

The scenes of jubilation and celebration seen in Marseille were just like those played out across the country. Even at 2am, three hours after the final whistle of an absorbing Euro 2016 semi-final played against the backdrop of a fevered atmosphere inside Stade Velodrome, car horns were honking along Avenue du Prado, the main artery road which leads back into central Marseille. Drums were being thumped and songs were being sung. "On est en finale" - we are in the final.

The scenes were similar on Les Champs Elysees in Paris. People were hanging out of car windows, clambering on top of vehicles, aping the Iceland thunder clap, which France’s players also conducted in the stadium themselves, and belting out La Marseillaise. The obvious comparison point was 1998, France’s World Cup win on home soil, where the same venue played host to a giant street party.

Everything seemed so perfect then. The unifying power of a World Cup win would draw a country together and fortify internal bonds. And yet the ruptures and ructions in French society in recent times have proved that unity was to a large extent illusory. It was why this tournament was said to be so important to France; why it could help to console a broken nation.

After knocking out world champions Germany to ensure a meeting with Portugal in the final, coach Didier Deschamps was clear about the importance of what France had achieved on a night when their ferocious support in Marseille produced a quite astonishing atmosphere.

"We don't have the power to solve the French people's problems but we can ease their worries," Deschamps said. "There is a lot of passion and fervour. There is a lot of happiness all over France tonight. Now the players are well aware of that power, and what they can give to the French people by wearing these colours. When you see the passion, inside and outside the stadium, this team has everything it takes to be loved.”

One player in particular. Antoine Griezmann scored twice to take his tally for the tournament to a remarkable six and Euro 2016 is now being shaped in his image. A French player had not scored more than three goals at a European Championship since Michel Platini plundered nine in Euro 84 - not Thierry Henry, not David Trezeguet - so Griezmann's exploits are undoubtedly historic. Platini's mark might be unattainable but he could run it close.

In truth there is much to admire about this France side: the excellence of Hugo Lloris, the emergence of Samuel Umtiti, the work-rate of Moussa Sissoko, the style and potential of Paul Pogba. The list goes on. But Griezmann knows the show he is putting on for the French public: the very last player to leave the pitch last night, Griezmann's name was chanted one final time and he turned around to face the stand before delivering a flamboyant bow, arms fluttering and spinning at his side, in the manner of a Shakespearean actor who had just finished a particularly well-received run of Twelfth Night at the Globe.

“We are very happy and we can start dreaming on July 10,” said Griezmann after appearing for his press conference as the man of the match. “We have to keep our feet on the ground: we still have one match to go. We are going to enjoy tonight and then start preparing for the final. Both before and after the game it was great with the fans, a fantastic experience, and we hope to relive that in the final.”

The symbolism of the fact it is Griezmann dominating this tournament and bringing such joy to France, when his sister, Maud, was in the Bataclan concert venue attacked by terrorists in November, is lost on no one. It is a vital part of this story, especially with France now playing Portugal in the same stadium which was also attacked on that devastating night, when Griezmann and his team-mates last played Germany in fact.

But it resonates in other ways too. Engendering this kind of feeling in a country which has become politically divided, witnessing a resurgence of the far right, obviously has implications. In a more parochial sporting sense, this team's success has changed the often troubled dynamic between France’s team and supporters. This broke down disastrously during the ill-fated player strike in Knysna in the 2010 World Cup and even players such as Thierry Henry were barracked by fans in very public displays of dissatisfaction from those in the stands at France matches.

Olivier Giroud had a taste of this just before the tournament started when being booed in a friendly against Cameroon. But the striker was given a standing ovation when he came off in the quarter-final win over Iceland and it is impossible to envisage any member of this France team being singled out for abuse by a group of supporters who are, by and large, head over heels in love with them. A creeping alienation has been usurped by something much more satisfying.

It was not just Griezmann playing up to the electric support in Stade Velodrome. Pogba, ever the showman, was helping to conduct performances of the Iceland thunder clap at each end of the stadium after France's victory. Andre-Pierre Gignac was charging around trying to wrestle his team-mates to the floor. It was a carnival atmosphere, although only one fraction of how the country will respond if France do beat Portugal on Sunday.

Deschamps was right. His team cannot heal France’s problems. The collapse of the country's rainbow dream after their last home triumph showed as much. But they have united a country for these heady summer weeks in France, where tricolores flutter and the Marseillaise cascades down from the stands and ripples through the streets. It's a powerful thing.

“I’m happy for the privileged individuals at the stadium who could witness this match and were buzzing tonight,” said the France coach. Just imagine the party that will erupt on Sunday if they win it.