The French government relied on Wednesday to a decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) "
by the summer
" on the thorny subject of the participation of Russian athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, without closing the door. to a "
penalty
".
At the end of January, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the Russians be already banned from the next Olympics.
The pressure increased on Tuesday, when the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, rallied to this hard line "
as long as there is war
" led by Russia in Ukraine.
Despite repeated calls from Kiev to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics, the IOC said it was "
studying
" the possibility of allowing them to participate, under a "
neutral banner
".
“
A decision must be taken by the summer
”, by the IOC, recalled the spokesperson for the French government Olivier Véran in front of the press.
"
So no position has yet been formally agreed with the IOC
", "
I let international cooperation take place
", he added.
However, he did not seem to close the door to an exclusion by evoking "
the constancy of France on the wish that all that is sanction can be applied fully and entirely
".