With just 18 days until the opening ceremony, Thierry Mathou, the Ambassador of France to India has said that France is excited to welcome the Indian delegation, which will be led by India’s Minister of Sports.
In his address at a high-level panel discussion recently on India’s preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games recently, Mathou stated, “France is definitely ready and can’t wait to welcome the Indian delegation.”
Organized by the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry and hosted by the Alliance française de Delhi, the event underscored the readiness of both nations for the upcoming international sporting spectacle. Ambassador Mathou expressed enthusiasm for welcoming the Indian delegation and highlighted the core values that the Paris 2024 Games will promote.
The Paris 2024 Games, Mathou explained, will embody values that France promotes internationally: innovation, sustainability, solidarity, and equality.
Innovation: Paris 2024 will feature an unprecedented opening ceremony held outside traditional stadiums.
Sustainability: These Games will be the most eco-friendly in history. In line with this commitment, President Macron and the President of the International Olympic Committee will host a Summit for Sustainable Development just before the opening ceremony.
Solidarity: The Games aim to be inclusive, offering free ticketing to broaden access and contribute to sustainable development goals.
Equality: Paris 2024 will achieve gender parity on the field, ensuring equal representation of male and female athletes. Mathou noted, “This is an essential aspect of the Games for France, which actively promotes a feminist foreign policy.”
The Games will feature 32 Olympic sports and 22 Paralympic sports, including new additions like climbing, surfing, skateboarding, and breakdancing. Beyond the four weeks of competition, the event is expected to drive significant transformation in France across employment, transport, accommodation, sports venues, and urban development. The concept of “legacy” has been integral to the Paris 2024 project since its inception in 2015.
Mathou highlighted the potential for strengthened Paris-India cooperation in sports, particularly as India is contributing to the security of the Games by sending a team of explosive-detection police dog units. This collaboration follows a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on sport cooperation signed last year between France and India. Discussions with India’s Minister of Sports and the Sports Secretary focused on implementing the MoU and leveraging French expertise in organizing major international sporting events, with an eye on India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics.
To foster the Olympic spirit in India, Mathou announced that from July 26th to August 11th, the Alliance Françaises network across India will host “fan zones” for sports enthusiasts. These zones will offer live screenings of the Games, especially events featuring Indian athletes like Neeraj Chopra. They will also provide opportunities for the public to engage in sports activities such as table tennis, badminton, and archery, and participate in contests with Paris 2024 memorabilia as prizes. Additionally, exhibitions, workshops, debates, and screenings of sports-related films will further enrich the experience.
Ambassador Mathou encouraged widespread participation, stating, “Our goal is to ensure that all our Indian friends can enjoy the spirit of the Paris 2024 Olympics and celebrate with us the values of international solidarity embodied by this event.”