Emmanuel Macron confided this on Thursday 9 February, on his arrival in Brussels for a European summit: he raised the issue of the possible participation of Russian athletes in the Paris 2024 Games during his dinner the previous day with Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart. “We talked about it, I also explained how things stood,” said the French president. But Emmanuel Macron made it clear that he would not take a personal position before the summer. “It is in the summer that we will have a review clause and we will assess it according to the circumstances, and according to what is happening on the ground,” he added. When asked about his position as president of the host country for the next Games, the head of state dismissed the question: “I’ll tell you when there’s a review clause, I’m not going to answer a question today that hasn’t been asked.” But when asked if he was not ruling out banning Russian athletes, he assured them: “No“. Clearly very well informed, Emmanuel Macron even assured that the IOC’s position on a possible reinstatement of Russian athletes “does not cover the period of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games that will be held in France.” Surprising.
