Russian athletes will not be welcome at the Olympics

During her visit to Kyiv, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said that the French capital would not be happy about the arrival of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympics, which should open at the end of July. According to Hidalgo, the Parisians, on the contrary, will support Ukrainian athletes. Le Monde newspaper quotes the words of the mayor.

Hidalgo’s statement was filmed by the Ukrainian channel United News and widely distributed. Before the interview, Hidalgo visited the training center where Ukrainian athletes prepare for the Olympic Games, and said that Paris would welcome Ukrainians “like heroes”.

Hidalgo’s words cannot be considered as a guide to action for the organizers of the Olympics: the mayor of Paris does not have the authority to allow or prohibit the participation of certain athletes in competitions. The International Olympic Committee allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the 2024 Olympics in neutral status.

In January 2023, Hidalgo stated that she supported the performances of Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral flag, “Meduza” clarifies – however, after some time she changed her position, stating that neutrality does not exist.

The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, in response to Hidalgo’s statement, offered the Russian side to “pick up some French product that is widely represented in Russia now, and declare that they will not be happy.” According to Zakharova, after this, “representatives of French business will storm the Paris City Hall, following the farmers.”

• The Summer Olympic Games, which will be the 33rd, will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024. Russian and Belarusian athletes will perform at them in a neutral status, only in individual sports and only if they are not connected with military departments or security agencies. Russian national teams in some sports refused to participate on such conditions.