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France?s Caribbean corner roots for the home team and homegrown players

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique - They don tricolor wigs, wrap themselves in French flags and paint their faces to cheer on their beloved ?Les Bleus.?

Though the matches are being played thousands of miles and a few time zones away in Europe, France?s Caribbean corner has caught World Cup fever. Even several days after a win, people in Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana can?t stop talking about their squad.

?I always had confidence in this team, even if at the beginning of the competition I was afraid that my team wouldn?t make it into the final four,? said Lagin Guiliano, who wore a Les Bleus scarf as he chatted about their chances at a bar in the Francois marina about 12 miles outside of the Martinique capital, Fort-de-France.

In Cayenne, the French Guiana capital, fans packed bars, restaurants and a concert hall to watch the Brazil match Saturday. After France?s 1-0 win, hundreds of supporters - some decked in team shirts or toting flags - flooded the streets, braving the seasonal rains to celebrate.

?Even if we don?t win the World Cup, we won and we have got our victory,? said Modestine Francis, the owner of a restaurant on French Guiana?s border with Brazil. Her face was covered in red, white and blue paint.

Several of the team?s players hail from the French Caribbean or have roots there - a point of pride for locals. They denounced recent comments by French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who complained that minorities were over-represented in the national soccer team.

?France?s strength lies in its minorities, its diversity and its history,? said Patrice Charles, a history student in Martinique. ?When I see Eric Abidal, Thierry Henry, Lilian Thuram ... I tell myself that they give a positive image of our region.

?Zot sDe lDe pli fo, zot sDe fiertDe nou? - You are the strongest, you are our pride,? Charles added in the local creole.

In Guadeloupe, chants of ?The team of France is a little like the team of Guadeloupe? ring through the streets.

If France reaches the World Cup final, it?s thanks to French Caribbean players, said Ewans Denis, a farmer in Martinique?s north.

?Without the people from (France?s) overseas departments, I strongly doubt that France would be at the top of the rankings,? said Denis, who is originally from Haiti. ?It?s a proud moment for me.?

The neighboring islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, where the economy depends on agriculture and tourism, are home to about 890,000 people. Some 200,000 people live in French Guiana, which is located on the northern tip of South America.