” Peace ! ». It is with this cry that the President of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons, concluded his opening speech of the 13th edition of the Paralympic Games, which began this Friday, almost a week after the Russian invasion in Ukraine. . These Games opened in a tense international climate and were not spared: boycott threats, tensions between athletes, reversal of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) which finally excluded Russian and Belarusian athletes: the flame of the Paralympic Games in Beijing’s winter ignited on Friday, while a huge controversy was narrowly extinguished the day before… The CIP had initially authorized Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag, before changing their minds this Thursday. A reversal justified by the fact that “Teams and athletes threaten not to participate”.
Under the eyes of Xi jinping
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The Chinese president was present at the opening ceremony © AFP
The ceremony first opened with an animation of planet Earth to present the previous editions of the Games, under the eyes of Chinese President Xi Jinping and in the absence of Russian and Belarusian athletes. But well with the Ukrainians, who presented themselves with their fists raised in the stadium to the somewhat more sustained applause of the public and enthusiastic from the president of the CIP.
“Our presence at the Paralympics is not insignificant. It is a symbol that Ukraine was, is and will remain a country.said Valeriy Sushkevych, the president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee, whose representatives had to cross Europe by bus in order to be able to fly to China.
“The 21st century is made for dialogue and diplomacy, not for war and hatred. The Olympic Truce for Peace during the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a UN resolution adopted by consensus by 193 Member States during the 76th UN General Assembly. It must be respected and observed, not violated.recalled Andrew Parsons.
The Russian and Belarusian absence contrasts with the Beijing Winter Olympics just a month ago: the Russians, numerous and applauded, marched in front of their president, Vladimir Putin, guest of honor.
If the Paralympic committees of many countries approved the reversal of the IPC, Moscow denounced “a monstrous situation” and ” a shame “promising to take legal action.
564 athletes present
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The French delegation led by its flag bearer, Benjamin Daviet © EPA/MAXPPP
In total, the event brings together 564 athletes from around forty countries, who will compete this Saturday in six sports (biathlon, wheelchair curling, sledge hockey, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding). France sent 19 athletes, including its alpine ski star Marie Bochet, already multiple gold medalist.
The tricolor standard bearer, Benjamin Daviet, spoke at the end of this ceremony: “I lived this evening with a lot of emotion. I was very proud to lead this French delegation into the stadium. A big emotion also after the speech of Andrew Pearson, we see that there is a lot of emotion and fair play between all the nations. Sport and the Paralympic Games will promote beautiful emotions and a great deal of peace. I’m ready to compete, I can’t wait to race and I can’t wait to go into battle with the other nations on the tracks. »
Like the Olympics, this meeting takes place in a health bubble to avoid a leak of the coronavirus elsewhere in China: the fear of the authorities, who apply a zero Covid strategy.
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