EDITORIAL. During the Olympic Games, politics continues

Contrary to what some claim, the Paris 2024 Games, which end tomorrow, will not have suspended politics. We saw several demonstrations of this during the Olympic fortnight.

Friday, August 9, Place de la Concorde, the first breaking evening in Olympic history was marked by Afghan Manisha Talash, who fled the Taliban regime. She competes in the refugee team, and took out a blue cape at the end of her movement with the words “Free Afghan women” written on the back. During the opening ceremony, the Algerian delegation threw flowers into the Seine at the exact spot where Algerian protesters had died, drowned in 1961 after a demonstration. There were also gestures of rapprochement during these Games, such as the selfie of the North Korean and South Korean table tennis players on the podium…

Politics also made its way into the stands, with Taiwanese flags being waved during the badminton semi-final between the Chinese and the Taiwanese team. This flag is in principle banned by the IOC, along with that of the Russians and Belarusians, Taiwan being Chinese in the eyes of the United Nations. Taiwanese supporters report dozens of incidents with Chinese people, or with security who enforce the rules and confiscate bags that bore a symbol of Taiwan, while Palestine, for example, has a delegation.

The joyful but eminently political image of an open, diverse, creative and inclusive France has clearly rung true to the ears of 96% of French people who approve of it. It has shocked others, from Marion Maréchal to Philippe de Villiers, including the Catholic Church. It has shocked people abroad too: in China, in certain African countries… Did the message sent from the outset by this France encourage these various demonstrations by athletes? We can ask ourselves the question.

In reality, even national politics is everywhere during these Paris Games. It is in the rather violent reaction of Anne Hidalgo, two days ago: the mayor of Paris, much criticized in the run-up to these Games and who relishes in the newspaper The World by dropping a “Fuck the reactionaries” avenger.

The Elysée may well explain that President Macron did everything he could to find the right place and not be too visible during these Games, but he also knows how much enthusiasm counts in the post-dissolution context, just as a failure would have weighed on the future. It is worth quoting this amused comment from one of his advisors after three days of the Olympics: “If he had waited until the end of the Games to dissolve, the result might not have been the same…” “We must not politicize sport”, Emmanuel Macron said at the time of the 2022 World Cup when asked about the opportunity of his presence in Qatar. Proof is given once again that sport is political and always will be.