President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Tokyo on Friday, where he is due to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in the evening, affirming that France was also going forward to prepare for the Paris-2024 Olympics.
Shortly after his arrival, Mr. Macron met the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the Japanese capital.
"
We are preparing for Paris-2024
" and "
we are hard at work
", said the French president.
To discover
The full program of the Olympic Games
"
This is the result of a very good discussion with the IOC President, Thomas Bach, and we too will continue to move forward to prepare our country for the 2024 meeting, our athletes but also our children, all of them. society, and to meet these values and the requirement of performance,
”he declared on his arrival at Club France, established in Tokyo for the Olympic Games which begin on Friday and which will be held until to August 8.
The health situation still on the agenda
Mr. Macron acknowledged that the health situation remained a concern, but that it should not undermine sportsmanship.
"
Learning to live with the virus is first of all to continue so that the spirit of Olympism in this period, where it is so necessary, which carries values of cooperation, continues to unfold,
" he said. he said, stressing that the Olympics were “
an important event in the lives of our athletes
”.
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At Club France, he was to have lunch with representatives of the French sports delegation, before meeting Emperor Naruhito of Japan at the Imperial Palace, in the presence of other foreign dignitaries, including the First Lady of the United States Jill Biden.
The opening ceremony at the new Olympic stadium in Tokyo is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. in Paris), attended by just less than a thousand guests.
Because the Olympics will take place almost everywhere behind closed doors, due to the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in Japan.
The entourage of Mr. Macron was thus reduced to a minimum, with the presence of a single minister at his side, Jean-Michel Blanquer, the Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports.
Olympic events on the program
On Saturday, Mr. Macron is due to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, two years after his first official visit to Japan.
The two leaders must notably discuss the situation in the Indo-Pacific zone, faced with growing maritime and military pressure from China, and bilateral economic relations between France and Japan.
Emmanuel Macron talks with Thomas Bach, the President of the IOC.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
Mr. Macron also planned to meet with Japanese business leaders on Saturday to promote France's economic attractiveness.
He must also attend the same day Olympic judo and 3X3 basketball, according to his program, before leaving for Polynesia.
Read also: Why the Olympic flame remains lit continuously for the duration of the events
In Tokyo, beyond sport and geopolitical and economic questions, the French president is also expected on the subject of children abducted by one of their parents in Japan, a practice frequent and tolerated by the authorities in the country in the event of separation of the couple.
Vincent Fichot, a Frenchman living in Tokyo and who has endured such a situation for nearly three years, has been on a hunger strike in front of a train station near the Olympic stadium since July 10.
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While his health is weakening, Mr. Fichot, 39, again told AFP on Thursday that he would not give up his action until he found his children or that France did not apply “
sanctions
” against Japan for failing to respect its international commitments regarding children's rights.
“
These are tragic situations
” to which France “
wants to find solutions with the Japanese authorities
”, but it is up to Japan to lead this societal debate and not to France, the Elysee said earlier this week.