French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that he is sure Russia will try to cause trouble at the Paris Olympics this summer. This shows that the games are taking place in a tense global situation.
Macron said he has no doubt, even about information, when asked if he thinks Russia will try to target the Olympics.
The Russian embassy in Paris didn’t reply right away to a request for comment.
Macron spoke at an event in Paris for the opening of the new Olympics swimming center and said that he is now more aware of foreign dangers that could affect the security and organization of the games.
The big event is happening while there are many problems in the world, like Russia fighting in Ukraine and Israel having a conflict with Hamas in Gaza. This makes it hard to keep the Olympics safe.
A person who works for Macron said they can’t say if the President was talking about specific information that shows Russia might try to interfere in the future.
Instead, she said: “Russia has been getting tougher, and we’ve been noticing it for a few months. ”
Macron is now being more firm with Russia and said that he is determined to beat them. He also mentioned that European soldiers might go to Ukraine in the future. But he made it clear that France does not want to start a fight with Russia.
His government has also started to take a harder stance against what they believe are false information campaigns from Russia in Europe.
Earlier this week, the Foreign Minister of France, Stephane Sejourne, said that France will suggest that all countries in the European Union should put sanctions on people who are spreading false information. This is because France thinks that Russia is trying to make the European Union weaker.
Russia and the International Olympic Committee
Russia and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are not getting along well before the Paris Olympics. Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete without their flags and anthems, and they won’t be in the opening parade.
At first, they were not allowed to compete in other countries because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia announced last year that it wants to bring back the ‘Friendship Games’ in 2024. The International Olympic Committee is not happy about it and sees it as a political move.
Dmitry Peskov, who speaks for the Kremlin, said this week that the IOC’s treatment of Russia’s plans to host sports events for the world was not okay. He also said that the IOC is harming the Olympics by not staying away from politics.
Date:
Macron asserts he is certain Russia will attack Olympics in Paris
