Israeli athletes are welcome at the Paris 2024 Olympics, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said on Monday, July 22, after a left-wing member of the French parliament sparked outrage by urging them to stay away.
“The Israeli delegation is welcome in France,” Séjourné said in Brussels ahead of talks with his Israeli counterpart, adding that the call by La France Insoumise (LFI, radical left) lawmaker Thomas Portes for the country’s exclusion had been “irresponsible and dangerous.” “We will ensure the security of the delegation,” Sejourne added.
Portes drew ire from French Jewish groups and both political opponents and allies for saying Israeli athletes were “not welcome” and calling for “mobilization” around the Olympics, during a demonstration in support of Palestinians.
He later told the newspaper Le Parisien that “France’s diplomats should pressure the International Olympic Committee to bar the Israeli flag and anthem, as is done for Russia” over its invasion of Ukraine.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the comments had “hints of anti-Semitism” while the head of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) organization, Yonathan Arfi, said he was “putting a target on the backs” of Israeli athletes.
Portes’ remarks were condemned at the weekend by some allies from the more moderate Parti Socialiste (PS, left) party, but backed by others in LFI.
