IOC, French President Emmanuel Macron reject Israel boycott call at Paris Olympics

PARIS – International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach and French President Emmanuel Macron have rejected a Palestinian demand that Israel be barred from the Paris Games over the war in Gaza.

As the Israeli team settled into the Athletes’ Village, the IOC studied a letter from the Palestine Olympic Committee asking for a ban on Israel, citing the bombings of the besieged Gaza Strip as a breach of the Olympic truce.

The letter, sent three days before the opening ceremony on July 26, “emphasised that Palestinian athletes, particularly those in Gaza, are denied safe passage and have suffered significantly due to the ongoing conflict”.

It said that “approximately 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed and the destruction of sports facilities exacerbates the plight of athletes who are already under severe restrictions”.

But Bach indicated that he would not be drawn into “political business”.

“The position of the IOC is very clear. We have two National Olympic Committees (NOC), that is the difference with the world of politics, and in this respect both have been living in peaceful co-existence,” he said.

“The Palestinian NOC has greatly benefited. Palestine is not a recognised member state of the UN but the NOC is a recognised national Olympic committee enjoying the equal rights and opportunities like all the other NOCs.

“We are not in the political business, we are there to accomplish our mission to get the athletes together.”

The Palestinian call highlights how the rising death toll in Gaza – 39,090, according to the latest estimate from the Hamas-run health ministry – and the growing humanitarian crisis is impacting the Paris Games.

Some left-wing French politicians have also called for Israel athletes to be barred in the same way as Russian and Belarusian athletes have been stripped of the right to compete under their national colours over the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The IOC had previously said that was a different situation, as the Russian war broke an Olympic truce during the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. The Russian Olympic Committee was also not banned until it recognised regional organisations from four territories annexed from Ukraine, which constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter.

“Israeli athletes are welcome in our country,” Mr Macron said, backing Bach’s comments.

“They must be able to compete under their colours because the Olympic movement has decided it,” he told France 2 television in an interview, adding that it was “France’s responsibility to provide them with security”.

“I condemn in the strongest possible way all those who create risks for these athletes and implicitly threaten them.”

Besides the Israelis, other competitors from numerous other countries have flooded into the Olympic Village in northern Paris, with national flags hanging from many windows.

Some of the biggest names set to perform at the Olympics – American gymnast Simone Biles and Spanish tennis pair Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz – have been spotted at the athletes’ home for the next two weeks or so.

Reviews of the food and accommodation were broadly positive, but some people reported minor issues with the transport to and from sports venues.

“Usually at Olympics, the transport takes a bit of time to work out,” said Tom Craig, a striker in the Australian hockey team. “We’ve heard about some teams getting taken to the wrong venue, but it hasn’t happened to us. One day we got a bit lost, but it was fine.”

In other developments, as the organisers put the final touches to the opening ceremony on the Seine, videos posted online showing United States pop star Lady Gaga in Paris sparked rumours that she will be among the performers.

The line-up for the ceremony, the first time a summer Olympics has opened outside of the main stadium, is yet to be fully announced.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said she hoped the weather would be fine for the parade after rain on July 23.

“We don’t make the weather so we will anxiously watch what it will be like on July 26, but we will make do and they will be exceptional Games,” she said. AFP