Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Wednesday that she hopes Russian athletes will be banned from the Paris Olympics and the opening ceremony, Reuters reports.

Mayor of Paris Anne HidalgoPhoto: Maeva Destombes / AFP / Profimedia

Instead, Israeli athletes should be quite happy, she said in an interview with Reuters, as organizers of the July 26-August 11 Olympic Games prepare to deal with problems arising from the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, News.ro said.

The International Olympic Committee, which resolves these issues, should discuss the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the opening ceremony at the next session.

So far, Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot participate under the flags of their countries, but they are allowed to perform as neutrals – without flags and anthems.

“It would be better if they didn’t come,” said Hidalgo.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced last week that Russian and Belarusian athletes participating in the Paralympic Games will not attend the opening ceremony.

“We cannot act as if (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) does not exist,” the mayor said. “We cannot act as if (Vladimir) Putin is not a dictator who threatens all of Europe today.”

Asked about Israel’s participation in the Olympics as the war in Gaza continues after the October 7 attack by Hamas, Hidalgo said it cannot be compared to Russia.

“The application of sanctions to Israel in connection with the Olympic and Paralympic Games is out of the question,” she said, “because Israel is a democratic state.”

The IOC did not impose any restrictions on the participation of Israeli athletes.

The mayor of Paris confirmed that before the Olympics there will be a ceremony to honor the memory of the victims of the attack on Israeli athletes and members of the delegation at the Olympics in Munich in 1972.

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