The inconceivable Russian athletes will return to Paris 2024 in time of war, says the prefect

There should not be a Russian delegation to the 2024 Paris Olympics as the war in Ukraine continues, he told the prefect of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, at this third fair (7).

“It is not conceivable (that the Russian athletes) participate as I know nothing has happened, having a delegation come to Paris while the bombs are still falling in Ukraine,” she told radio France Info.

Hidalgo suggested that the Russian athletes should be in Paris for the Games from July 26 to August 11 as part of the refugee team established by the IOC, opposing the participation of Russian athletes as neutrals, as was the case in previous Olympics.

“If the Russian dissidents want to participate under a flag, two refugees, they will be refugees, dissidents, which means they do not support Vladimir Putin,” she explained.

“We are not going to make one country participate while another is attacking and act as if nothing is happening. I am not in favor of having a Russian delegation while the war continues.”

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Russia from the Olympics, saying that allowing it to participate in two Games was the same as showing that “terror is somehow acceptable.”