Paris mayor calls for Russian athletes’ ban from Olympics

PARIS Mayor Anne Hidalgo expressed her desire for Russian athletes to be excluded from the Paris Olympics, including the opening ceremony while emphasizing a warm welcome for Israeli athletes amid preparations to address concerns stemming from conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

The International Olympic Committee is set to deliberate on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the opening ceremony at their upcoming session.

Currently, athletes from these countries can compete as neutrals, devoid of national flags or anthems.

“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.

“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 conflict in Gaza is raging following the Oct. 7 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 Games.