The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, on Tuesday supported the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the Olympic Games to be hosted by the French capital in 2024, a measure she considers essential «as long as there is war» in Ukraine.
Hidalgo has questioned that the event can take place «as if nothing had happened», that a Russian delegation parade «while bombs continue to fall on Ukraine». «A country that is attacking another country cannot parade,» he argued in an interview with Franceinfo.
The socialist leader had been in favor in January of allowing the participation of athletes «under a neutral flag», but now considers this compromise «totally indecent», since «there are sometimes athletes who are dissidents». However, she has clarified that «there is still time» before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) makes a final decision.
The Ukrainian government, headed by President Volodimir Zelenski, has openly demanded not only that Russia and Belarus be banned as states from the Paris Games, but also that their citizens not do so under any flag or alternative pattern to that of their respective countries.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
