Israeli Contingent to Get 24-Hour Protection During 2024 Paris Olympics

JAKARTA - French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said Israeli athletes will receive 24-hour protection during the 2024 Paris Olympics, after a left-wing lawmaker said the Israeli contingent was not welcome and called for protests against their participation.

Darmanin spoke after lawmaker Thomas Portes, a member of the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party, was caught on video saying that Israeli Olympic athletes were not welcome in France, and that there should be protests against their participation in the Games.

"We are a few days away from an international event that will be held in Paris, which is the Olympic Games. And I am here to say no, the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris. Israeli athletes are not welcome at the Olympic Games in Paris," he said amid applause, according to images posted on social media, reported by Reuters, July 22.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne told a meeting with European Union colleagues in Brussels: "I want to say on behalf of France, to the Israeli delegation, we welcome you in France for these Olympic Games."

He said he would emphasize that in an upcoming phone call with his Israeli counterpart, and also “tell him that we guarantee the security of the Israeli delegation.”

Portes did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Israeli Embassy declined to comment.

Several LFI lawmakers offered a partial defense of Portes’ comments. Manuel Bompard, a senior party official and member of parliament, wrote in X that he supported Portes "in the face of the wave of hatred he is experiencing.

"In the face of repeated violations of international law by the Israeli government, it is legitimate to ask its athletes to compete under a neutral flag at the Olympics," he wrote.

It is known that the 2024 Paris Olympics are scheduled to start on Friday this week amid real security concerns, due to increasing geopolitical tensions due to the war in Ukraine and Gaza.

"We feel like envoys of the State of Israel, all our athletes, are here to achieve their goals, but there is another layer, a national mission," Israeli Olympic Committee President Yael Arad said at a news conference at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of the departure of the Israeli contingent, according to The Times of Israel.