President Macron (left) and Anne Hildago, mayor of Paris (right))
David Rubio Salguero – Inside The Games March 31, 2024
Four months before the start of the 33rd Olympic Games of the modern era in Paris, the ambiguous position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the presence of athletes from Russia and Belarus continues to cause problems, with constant quotes and reactions from both sides.
This time, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has said on Saturday that Russian and Belarusian athletes were “not welcome” at this summer’s biggest sporting event.
“I want to tell the Russian and Belarusian athletes that they are not welcome in Paris. I would also like to tell the Ukrainian athletes and all the Ukrainian people that we support them very much,” she said in a video posted by Ukrainian YouTube channel, United News.
Hidalgo made her comments on a trip to Kyiv where she visited a training centre for Ukrainian athletes. Russian athletes are allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics, which run from 26 July to 11 August, but only as neutrals. Both countries have been banned from taking part in the opening ceremony, which will be held on the River Seine in the heart of the city.
In response, Moscow launched a furious tirade against the International Olympic Committee, arguing that the restrictions on Russian athletes amounted to “racism and neo-Nazism”, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The IOC suspended Russia from the 2024 Games last year, but gave its athletes the green light to compete as neutrals as long as they did not actively support the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine. As it’s been commonly said, that the IOC threw the stone and hid its hand.
The IOC should have made a public statement condemning Hidalgo for her words or supporting her, but unfortunately they won’t do anything. As a result, with 118 days to go until the opening ceremony, it’s still unclear what will happen to the athletes from these countries.
The Spanish-born Ana María Hidalgo, known as Anne Hidalgo, is a member of the Socialist Party and has been mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the position. She has done a lot to make Paris 2024 a reality, working with the president of the organising committee, Tony Estanguet, but now her comments in Kiev could raise an issue with the IOC. Can she not welcome the athletes that the IOC allows to compete?
Russia and Belarus haven’t confirmed that their athletes will take part as neutrals, otherwise both countries will end up boycotting. There are opinions in both ways. From “we should compete anyway” to “we won’t compete without our flag and anthem”.
Is it just me…
or is anyone else getting ‘Little French Faggot’ fatigue? 🤔
It doesn’t have anything to do with the Mayor of Paris. This is an IOC decision to let a small number of Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as independents.
I for the life in me, Can’t understand WHY the nations opposed to the so called western nations ideals don’t have their own counter-Comps.
It’s decades since I watched or took any interest in this NWO owned & operated charade.
As revealed by various alternative outlets, The opening ‘ceremonies’ are nothing more than a vision or forthcoming intention of a woke UN agenda.
Simply Geoff BOYCOTT the whole farce.
(I know most of the TTS bloggers probably already do, but you know where I’m coming from)
The Greek regions were always at war and the Olympics was the one time they put politics aside, but our petty mong bastard politicians can’t do that. I was amazed when Reagan and Thatcher did this to Russia in 1980 by boycotting (or USA did, and Thatcher wanted to)
My uncle used to say the French army learns to walk backwards so it looks like it’s advancing when it’s in retreat.
Since pols are injecting themselves into the olympics, if there is ANY way to trade Joe and maybe 3-4 1st round draft pics from the young leaders’ for Putin? Pretty sure we’d throw in the golden gate, maybe France would get in the game with Macron and Hidalgo?
ALL options are on the table!
(I realize this is 1 April, but this is no joke!)
How does she feel about Israelis?
I forgot all about this years Olympics, lost interest in this charade a long time ago, should be boycotted. But I have become a big fan of the Russian athletes when they became targets and hassled by the host country. When they try to keep some of the worlds athletes off stage then many become interested and root for those athletes. Without Russians in Judo, swimming, track, etc the Olympics are just a tranny festival. Change the name to the Transgender Olympics.
Someone asked why did the French plant trees along the Champs Elysee? So the Germans could march in the shade.
@MM
Bit of a myth there l suspect.The French are no slouches when in combat mode.Far from it.
How ungrateful ..!!! The last time the Russians stood at the gates of Paris after defeating the previous megalomaniac Bonaparte they left the city intact ..
Cough! Cough!
Excusez moi!
It would make great entertainment if Zakharova & Delgado would duke it out cat-fight style…!
@mm re “My uncle used to say the French army learns to walk backwards so it looks like it’s advancing when it’s in retreat.”
My uncle used to say the Brit army learns to swim backwards so it can always see Dunkirk disappearing in the distance.. 😊
Btw that was my dear-departed Uncle Wolfgang Wippenhauser who used to entertain me as a child with his eye-watering raucous recollections of Brits clambering aboard their dinghies and paddling back to Blighty! 😂
These nincoompoops forget that the spirit of original olympics allowed ALL countries to compete whether at war with greece or not. If at war there would be cessation of hostilities until the conclusion of the games