Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Tuesday had a volte-face about allowing Russian athletes to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Hidalgo said last month that she believed Russians should be allowed to take part in the upcoming games in her city “under a neutral flag” so as not to punish athletes based on where they come from. But in a radio interview Tuesday, the socialist official called her previous position “indecent” on the grounds that a neutral flag “does not really exist,” arguing instead that Russian athletes should be banned “while the war continues” in Ukraine. The decision will ultimately be made by the International Olympic Committee, which said last month that it was looking for a “pathway” to allow both Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.
