The poster was impressive: Marcus Rashford, 22, forward at Manchester United, against Boris Johnson, 55, Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The young man, one of the most gifted English footballers of his generation, launched the offensive on Monday 15 June against the government's refusal to extend free meals for poor schoolchildren during the summer holidays – 1.3 million children are eligible for free meals in the country, around 15% of schoolchildren.
The result was almost obvious, given the sensitivity of the subject, the popularity and the determination of the footballer: Boris Johnson capitulated in just 24 hours, his spokesman announcing, Tuesday June 16 at noon, that the children “Eligible for free meals will receive coupons this summer during school holidays. The Prime Minister fully understands that children and their parents are facing an unprecedented situation this summer. ”
It all started on Monday morning with a touching open letter from Marcus Rashford to British MPs, posted on Twitter. The footballer engaged in it, recounting a difficult childhood, a loving and devoted mother but alone to raise and feed her five children. "Food banks and soup kitchens were not foreign to us", he explains.
"Without the kindness and generosity of my community, the Marcus Rashford you see today, a young black man of 22 who is fortunate enough to have a career in the sport he loves, would not exist. "
In the midst of the Black Lives matter movement, such secrets are echoed in British public opinion. The player, who explains that he was admitted to his club from 11 years old because he knew his mother's difficulties, finally points out that “Child poverty in England is a pandemic. This is the England of 2020 and it is a subject that requires immediate action. "
"Go back on your decision!" "
"Go back, reverse your decision!" " he asks Boris Johnson, launching the hashtag #MaketheUturn on Twitter. A few days earlier, Downing Street had announced the end, during the six weeks of summer vacation, of "free meals", this device existing for all needy children in the country during school period. Parents receive vouchers worth £ 15 (around € 17) per week per eligible child, to spend on supermarkets.
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