France does not participate in the diplomatic Olympic boycott

Several countries have announced in recent days that they intend to diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympics in China. Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others, point out that China is violating basic human rights in Xinjiang, where the Uyghur minority is held in labor camps.

On Thursday, France announced that it would send diplomats to the contrary.

Minister of Sports and Education Jean-Michel Blanquer speaks for BFM TV One has to distinguish between sports and politics.

We denounced discrimination and persecution of minorities such as the Uyghurs. I also express my concern for (tennis star) Beng Shuai. There we have to be firm and clear, he says.

But the diplomatic boycott The Olympics is another matter, according to Blanquer. France does not intend to participate in such a move.

We must be careful when it comes to the question of the relationship between sport and politics. Sport should be protected as much as possible from political interference. Other than that, it ends up killing competitions, he says.

Whether France’s position was affected by the 2024 Summer Olympics being held in Paris is not clear from the interview at BFM.

According to TT, Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said he would travel to China for the Olympics.

It will be another motivating factor for all members of the IOC team, said Stanislav Pozdinakov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Discussion is taking place within the European Union How countries should respond to the diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Games in China. It is up to each state to decide. Lithuania, which has strained relations with the Chinese regime, announced that neither the president nor ministers would attend the games.

Sweden has not yet taken a position, according to Sports Minister Anders Yegmann.

– I haven’t received an invitation yet from SOK, the Swedish Olympic Committee, but there is obviously a debate all over Europe if I’m going to China. We don’t even know if that’s practically feasible given an outbreak, he says.

Nowadays, travelers need In China, they are quarantined for three weeks upon arrival. If these provisions also apply to diplomats in February next year, Anders Wegmann does not think ministers will visit the Games.

“I think it would be hard to defend that kind of wasted working time for a cabinet minister,” he says.

At the same time, a group of members of the bourgeoisie is appealing to the government and the royal family not to accept invitations to attend the Winter Games in Beijing. In an open letter, ten representatives from M, C, KD, and L wrote that “public figures who participate in the Games risk appearing as willing participants in the propaganda campaign of the Chinese regime.”

Letters from the USA, Britain and other countries in a diplomatic boycott have prompted China to exit and warn that it will lead to consequences.

“Using the Olympic platform for political games is unpopular and isolates themselves, and they will inevitably have to pay for their mistakes,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.