The Olympic Games overtaken by the war in Ukraine. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, declared during a trip to kyiv that Russian and Belarusian “athletes” were “not welcome” during this event, which will take place in Paris from July 26 to August 11, in a video posted Saturday.
“I want to tell the Russian athletes and the Belarusian (athletes) that they are not welcome in Paris and to tell the Ukrainian athletes and the entire Ukrainian people that we support them very actively, very strongly,” he said. declared the PS mayor of Paris, in a video published by the Ukrainian YouTube channel United news. Anne Hidalgo notably visited, during this trip to kyiv, the training center for Ukrainian athletes.
Russia denounces “discrimination”
The Russians, who will participate in the Olympics under a neutral banner, will not join the parade of national teams during the opening ceremony, while having “the possibility of experiencing the event”, for its part indicated the International Committee Olympic Games (IOC) on March 19. Russia in return accused the IOC of “sloping into racism and neo-Nazism” and of being guilty of “discrimination” and “intimidation”.
VIDEO. Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Russian and Belarusian athletes “will not parade” during the opening ceremony
The Council of Europe, watchdog for human rights on the continent and which brings together 46 countries, had already requested last year the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paris Games.
