French President Emmanuel Macron had called for an ‘Olympic truce’ during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and at the UN General Assembly in December.
“There is no ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has not stopped its bombing. And in Ukraine, Russia is still making territorial gains there, so there isn’t really much hope for an Olympic truce,” said Smith.
“There are also accusations of double standards because while the Russian and Belarussian countries are banned from the Olympics, they’re sending between them just over 30 athletes not allowed to fly their national flags, not allowed to take part in the opening ceremony.
“The accusations of double standards are that Israel is allowed to take part. Israel has got 88 athletes here. The Palestinian Olympic committee called for Israel to be blocked and not be allowed to take part in the Olympics because of the war in Gaza, but those calls have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.
Government officials denounced the attacks. “It’s completely appalling,” Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera told BFMTV. “To target the games is to target France.”
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