Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo did not mince words as she launched into an expletive-filled tirade against those who criticized the Olympic opening ceremony, defending the director and artists who put on the show.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a sort-of apology to anyone offended by the Games’ opening ceremony, which included strong LGBTQ2 representation and historic themes. Hidalgo, on the other hand, told them to f–k off.
“F–k the reactionaries, f–k this far right, f–k all of those who would like to lock us into a war of all against all,” she said in an interview with Le Monde published Tuesday, notably using the swear word in English.
Religious and political conservatives from around the world decried one segment of the ceremony in particular, where a tableau purportedly evoking Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper featured drag queens and other performers in a configuration reminiscent of Jesus Christ and his apostles.
The French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops labelled the segment “scenes of derision” that they said made a mockery of Christianity — a sentiment echoed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The Anglican Communion in Egypt expressed its “deep regret,” saying the ceremony could cause the IOC to “lose its distinctive sporting identity and its humanitarian message.”
Drag queens prepare to perform on the Debilly Bridge in Paris, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / The Associated Press
Hidalgo, who has been mayor for 10 years, said she’s proud of how Paris was represented to the world in the opening ceremony.
“Paris is the city of all freedoms, the city of refuge for LGBTQI+ people, the city where people live together,” she told Le Monde.
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The Socialist Party mayor also said the ceremony and Olympic Games are a hopeful bright spot in an uptick of far-right political sentiment in France and the rest of Europe.
“The far right’s messaging has been crushed by these Games and by the opening ceremony,” she said. “Something incredibly positive is happening.”
Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director, has said he’s received death threats and been the victim of cyberbullying online, and distanced his scene from any “Last Supper” parallels after the ceremony, clarifying that the scene was supposed to depict a pagan feast linked to the gods of Olympus.
An overview of the Trocadero venue with the Eiffel Tower in the background, in Paris, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
Francois-Xavier Marit / Pool Photo via AP
“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly told The Associated Press. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”
Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps also addressed the controversy late last month, saying the intention of the ceremony was “to celebrate community tolerance.”
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think (with) Thomas Jolly, we really did try to celebrate community tolerance,” Descamps said. “Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are, of course, really, really sorry.”
— With a file from The Associated Press
