Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo says Russian athletes should be banned from Olympics

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo on Wednesday made her opinion clear that Russian athletes should not be allowed to participate in this year’s Olympics that takes place at the French capital in July and August, nor should they be allowed to attend the opening ceremony.

While Hidalgo called for a complete ban on Russian athletes for Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, she did not ask for a similar treatment of Israeli athletes despite the country’s offensive in Gaza, according to Reuters.

The Paris mayor’s comments come at a time when the organisers of the world’s biggest sporting event are dealing with international pressure to place restrictions on, or suspend entirely, athletes from Russia and Israel for their ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which decides on such matters, is due to discuss at a next session the question of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the opening ceremony.

Read | Sanctioning Israel over Gaza conflict ahead of Paris Olympics ‘out of question’: IOC

For now, Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot take part under their countries’ flag, but are allowed to participate as neutrals — without flags or anthems being played.

“I prefer that they don’t come,” Hidalgo said in an interview with Reuters.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said last week that Russian and Belarusian athletes joining the Paralympics would not be part of their opening ceremony.

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“We cannot act as if (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) did not exist,” the Socialist mayor said. “We could not act as if (Vladimir) Putin was not a dictator who today threatens the whole of Europe.”

Asked about Israel’s participation in the Olympics, while the war in Gaza is raging following the 7 October attack by Hamas, Hidalgo said there was no comparison with Russia.

“Sanctioning Israel in relation to the Olympic and Paralympic Games is out of the question”, she said, “because Israel is a democracy.”

The IOC has not put any limit on the participation of Israeli athletes.

The mayor of Paris confirmed that, ahead of the Olympics, a ceremony would commemorate the victims of the attack on Israeli athletes and team members at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

With Reuters inputs