PARIS – Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on March 13 said that she hoped Russian athletes would be banned from taking part in this summer’s Olympics and also the opening ceremony.

Israeli athletes, however, should be fully welcome, she told Reuters in an interview, as organisers of the July 26-Aug 11 Paris Games prepare to deal with issues arising from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

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

For now, they 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,” Ms Hidalgo said.

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

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

Asked about Israel’s participation in the Olympics, while the war in Gaza is raging following the Oct 7 attack by Hamas, Ms Hidalgo added that 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.

Turning her attention to France, the Paris Mayor added that the 2024 Olympics have allowed the capital and its region to speed up plans to extend their public transport network and other big projects, such as cleaning up the Seine river.

She also said the north-east of Paris will reap benefits from the Games, with the newly built Adidas Arena in the Porte de la Chapelle area, while the Eiffel Tower zone will be renovated.

Paris has been working on cleaning up the Seine as well so that people can swim in it again, as was the case during the 1900 Paris Olympics.

“Without the Games, I would have needed an extra 10 years to make these transformations,” Ms Hidalgo said.

“It (preparing for the Olympics) was an acceleration of the transformation of Paris... In terms of mobility, of swimming in the Seine, which I would not have been able to do on such a scale and pace, if it hadn’t been for the Games.”

She also believes that environmental issues should be a focal point, urging future Olympic hosts who are planning on installing air conditioning at the athletes’ village to “trust the science” instead.

Temperatures are expected to soar in the European summer, but there will be no air conditioning in the athletes’ rooms at Paris 2024, which has pledged to host the “greenest ever” Games.

Instead, buildings have been designed with a cooling system drawing water from underground, and facades orientated so they get little direct sun.

“I think we have to trust science on two counts,” she said.

“The first is what scientists are telling us about the fact that we are on the brink of a precipic (because of global warming).

“And secondly, we have to trust the scientists when they help us construct buildings in a sober way that allows us to make do without air conditioning.”

REUTERS