France will participate in the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, despite a boycott by some countries due to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes under their national flags. This is reported by Le Figaro with reference to the French Paralympic and Sports Committee.
The French Paralympic and Sports Committee stated that France will not boycott the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, which will be held from March 6 to 15 in Milan. Some states have decided to abstain in protest against the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes who will compete under their flags. Ukraine’s Minister of Sports Vadym Gutzeit announced that Ukrainian officials will also not attend the games due to this decision.
The President of the French Paralympic Committee, Marie-Amélie Le Fur, noted that the committee will not boycott the event, although it disagrees with the decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under national flags. According to the official, this decision was made democratically, and France must respect it.
The decision of the International Paralympic Committee regarding the participation of athletes marked the end of the isolation of Russia and Belarus, which had persisted since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine with Minsk’s support in February 2022. However, this decision caused a negative reaction from six European countries that decided not to participate in the opening ceremony. Among them are Ukraine, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Poland, and Latvia.
| Participating Countries | Boycotting |
|---|---|
| Ukraine | Yes |
| Czech Republic | Yes |
| Estonia | Yes |
| Finland | Yes |
| Poland | Yes |
| Latvia | Yes |
| France | No |
