French minister says no diplomatic boycott for Beijing Olympics

Authored by reuters.com and submitted by seoulite87
image for French minister says no diplomatic boycott for Beijing Olympics

A staff member holds a safety lantern of the Olympic flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, during a ceremony of the flame exhibition tour at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in Beijing, China December 9, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

PARIS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - France will not follow the lead of some other Western governments and launch a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing although human rights abuses in China must be condemned, the education minister said on Thursday.

The United States, Canada, Australia and Britain all said this week that their government officials will not attend the Games in order to send China a message over its human rights record. read more

"As for a diplomatic boycott...France will not do it," Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said on BFM TV. "Sports is a world in itself, which must be protected from political interference."

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Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu would attend the Beijing Olympics, he said. But he said it was right that violations of human rights in China be condemned.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was more guarded and said Paris should take a common stand with other European Union capitals.

Speaking at a joint news conference with new his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Paris, Le Drian said there was a need for a common European position on the issue of a diplomatic boycott of the Games in Beijing. read more

Baerbock also called for the EU to adopt a joint stance.

She said the case of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, whose whereabouts have become a matter of international concern following her allegations of being sexually assaulted by a former vice-premier of China.

"When a woman raises such a reproach, it needs to be heard in an international context. We need to pursue the case and come to a common answer," Baerbock said during her first trip abroad as foreign minister.

Paris is due to host the summer Olympic Games in 2024.

Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and John Irish; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

AweDaw76 on December 10th, 2021 at 03:34 UTC »

Wonder how much this is due to principle and how much is to protect their Oly Games in 2024

seoulite87 on December 9th, 2021 at 22:42 UTC »

SS: France made it official that they are not boycotting for Beijing Olympics. I believe this to be a severe blow for US boycott diplomacy vis-à-vis China. If other European capitals join France and attend the Olympics as business as usual, the US & UK would be effectively isolated. Japan may take note and they might decide to avoid a diplomatic boycott as well. If that were to be the case, it would be a big embarrassment. More importantly, as this would be a clear proof of western disunity, it would make China even more bold and assertive in the future, thereby destabilizing the international order even further. In view of such considerations, I believe French decision concerning this subject is a serious misstep which might endanger all other allies.

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