​Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said “Russian and Belarusian athletes are not welcome” at the 2024 Paris Olympics in a video released on Saturday, Le Figaro reported.

>> France calls on Russia to observe a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Olympics in Paris

Ann Hidalgo: “We support the entire Ukrainian people”

A member of the Socialist Party, Hidalgo, stated this during a trip to Kyiv. She visited the training center of Ukrainian athletes.

“I want to tell the Russian and Belarusian athletes that they are not welcome in Paris, and to tell the Ukrainian athletes and the entire Ukrainian people that we support them very actively and very strongly,” – Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris.

Russians, who will participate in the Olympic Games under a neutral flag, will not join the national team parade at the opening ceremony, but will still have “the opportunity to experience the event”, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said. March 19.

Instead, Russia accused the IOC of “descending into racism and neo-Nazism” and of “discrimination and intimidation.”

The Council of Europe, which monitors the observance of human rights on the continent and unites 46 countries, asked not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Games in Paris last year, writes News.ro.