IOC: Political Turmoil in France Won't Affect Olympic Games

The Olympic rings are displayed on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic games in Paris, France, June 9, 2024 REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
The Olympic rings are displayed on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic games in Paris, France, June 9, 2024 REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
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IOC: Political Turmoil in France Won't Affect Olympic Games

The Olympic rings are displayed on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic games in Paris, France, June 9, 2024 REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
The Olympic rings are displayed on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic games in Paris, France, June 9, 2024 REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Political upheaval in France won't affect preparations for the Olympic Summer Games, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Monday after President Emmanuel Macron shocked France with his call for new parliamentary elections.

Macron called the snap election after the far-right National trounced his own party in Sunday's European Parliament vote. Two voting rounds will be held on June 30th and July 7th, the latter coming less than three weeks before the Olympics begin.

"France is used to holding elections, they will do it one more time, there will be a new government and everyone will support the Olympics", Bach said during a Paris 2024 run-up event in Paris, adding that French political leaders were united in their support of the Games.

"I have no indication whatsoever that this unity will break now only a couple of days before the Games open," he said.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, a socialist, said she was "having a hard time understanding" why Macron chose to throw the country into political uncertainty so close to the Games, calling the move "one more coup" by the president.
Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet said his team was "more determined than ever" to make the Games a success. "There were around ten elections since we launched the candidacy for the Olympics and we understood how to work with the public actors."



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.