Reporter | Anjing
Editor|Liu Haichuan
In 2021, when the Tokyo Olympics, which had been postponed for a year, were finally held, the pandemic was the biggest challenge. The Tokyo Olympics held the opening ceremony without a live spectator, and spectators were not allowed to watch most of the games live.
The Paris Olympics, which will open on July 26, will face more complex challenges: protests and security concerns over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Russia, the threat of terrorist attacks, and protest strikes in France.
While the Olympics have always emphasized depoliticization, politics has always been associated with the Olympics. Nazi Germany used the 1936 Olympics to promote Aryan superiority, after World War II the London Olympics refused Germany and Japan participation, and now Russia and Belarus are banned from the Paris Olympics.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has become a thorny problem to deal with at the Paris Olympics. Palestinian athletes will compete in the Games, and Israel's National Security Service has deployed armed security personnel to protect Israel athletes.
France, the host country, itself remains in a political stalemate, with a new prime minister and government delayed. France President Emmanuel · Macron has announced that the caretaker government will remain in power until the end of the Games to ensure the smooth running of the Games.
Palestinian-Israeli athletes
Eight Palestinian athletes will compete in Paris, three more than in Tokyo. However, due to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, most of the athletes participating in the Olympic Games are Palestinians living abroad, and only a few are from the West Bank of the Jordan River. Of the eight athletes, only one entered the Olympics through the Taekwondo Qualifying Tournament, while the remaining seven were invited by the IOC.
According to the Palestinian Olympic Committee, more than 400 athletes and sports workers in Gaza have been killed or injured since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on October 7 last year. In January, the coach of the Palestinian soccer team was killed in an Israel airstrike. Last December, the coach of the Palestinian national athletics team died in an air strike. So far, the death toll in Gaza has exceeded 39,000.
Palestinian Olympic Committee President Buril · Rajib said that an important purpose of Palestinian athletes participating in the Paris Olympics is to use the exposure of the Olympics to draw the world's attention to Israel's military operations in Gaza.
However, the Olympic Charter explicitly prohibits any form of political, religious and ethnic propaganda and demonstrations at Olympic venues. Palestinian athletes will need to express themselves in other ways.
Israel will send 88 athletes to the Games, the second highest number of athletes ever since Israel participated in the Games. Israel's participation in the Olympics is one of the controversial points of the Games.
Pro-Palestinian groups accuse Israel of committing massacres against Palestinians and demand that the IOC ban Israel from the Paris Olympics. It is not only pro-Palestinian organizations that make this request, but also France parliamentarians.
Thomas · Bots, a lawmaker from France's far-left party Indomitable France, declared at a pro-Palestinian rally that Israel would not be welcome at the Paris Olympics, calling on supporters to take action in this regard. Porters also accused the I.O.C. of playing double standards, banning Russia from competing but not Israel.
As a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at least 15 Israel athletes received threatening emails threatening to repeat the tragedy of the 1972 Munich Olympics. During the Olympics that year, a Palestinian militant group called Black September broke into the Olympic Village and kidnapped Israel athletes, ultimately killing 11 Israel athletes.
France President Emmanuel Macron condemned the threats against Israel athletes, stressing that France welcomes Israel athletes and will provide the necessary security for the Israel delegation. France's interior minister, Gérald · Darmanin, announced last Sunday that France will provide 24-hour security for Israel athletes during the Paris Olympics.
The Government of Israel has also raised its vigilance. Israel's National Security Service sent security personnel to Paris to protect Israel athletes, who will be armed, and the entire security operation will be the largest since Israel's participation in the Olympics.
On Wednesday, in Group D of the football program at the Paris Olympics, Mali drew 1-1 with Israel. The match was held at the Parc des Princes in Paris, and France sent 1,000 police officers to maintain law and order. Outside the stadium, protesters chanted "let the hostages free"; Inside the stadium, some spectators waved Palestinian flags and applauded Israel.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict is also another key backdrop for the Paris Olympics. But since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Russia and Belarus have been banned from participating in international sporting events. Currently, 15 Russia athletes and 17 Belarusian athletes are participating in the Paris Olympics as neutral athletes, and these athletes will not be able to use the national symbols and anthems of Russia and Belarus.
Security Preparedness
The Olympics, which have received global attention, are also a good opportunity for France's trade unions to play a game with the government. On Monday, 220 dancers who will perform at the opening ceremony refused rehearsals to protest unfair treatment among performers.
The Federation of Performing Artists of France (SFA-CGT) pointed out that these dancers can only be paid 60 euros for their performances at the opening ceremony, while ballet dancers are paid 1610 euros. On Tuesday, the federation negotiated with the organizers, who offered a salary increase of 180 euros, which was rejected by the federation. By Wednesday, the federation had issued a statement announcing the victory of the negotiations and the call for the strike, with the organizers agreeing to pay an additional 160 to 240 euros for the more than 200 dancers.
Prior to this, several trade unions, including the France General Trade Union, public transport workers, and Paris garbage removal workers, also threatened to strike during the Olympics and demanded a wage increase from the government. After the government compromised, the unions canceled their strike plans.
However, private taxi drivers in Paris still issued strike notices and prepared to strike from the 26th to the 29th. Drivers are unhappy with the Paris city government's exclusion of private taxis by allowing regular taxis to use dedicated lanes during the Games, and demanding that the government pay Olympic subsidies for private taxi drivers.
Also dissatisfied with the subsidies for the Olympic Games, some ground staff of the France airport operator, the Aéroports de Paris Group, are also preparing to strike during the Games, involving Paris Shire· Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly and Paris Le Bourget.
The France government expects 15 million tourists to flock to Paris during the Games. In order to escape the crowds, some residents of central Paris have left Paris for vacations. During the Games, France will send 45,000 police and gendarmerie and 15,000 soldiers to provide security. France will be assisted by 1,800 police officers from United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will be held on the Seine, and athletes from all countries will cruise 6 kilometers on the Seine River in boats, with 300,000 spectators watching along the way. In preparation for the opening ceremony, the police have already cordoned off the area along the Seine in advance.
The area close to the Seine is classified as a gray zone, and only residents staying in the area, tourists who have booked hotels in advance, can enter with a QR code; Outside the gray zone is the red zone, where pedestrians, bicycles, registered taxis, official cars, and hotel VIP vehicles can move around in the red zone. The red zone is separated from the grey zone by an iron fence.
Before the opening ceremony, the explosion team will conduct a survey of the bridges and bottom of the Seine, and soldiers will be stationed on the rooftops along the banks to deal with possible drone attacks. Paris Police Chief Laurent · Nunez said police have raided people on the police's watch list in recent weeks, arresting a number of extremist religious elements, far-right and far-left figures. So far, the police have cracked at least two attack plots against the Olympics.