The President of France is one of the European leaders who recently stopped adhering to politically cautious neutrality, risking being misunderstood. The general practice of smoothing over sharp edges is gradually changing, as politicians start calling things by their names, and Macron is one of the first in this regard. He broke down Putin’s actions and statements regarding the upcoming Olympics to show the world the true value of the Russian President’s words and what can be expected from him.
The Perfect Crowd
For the first time in several decades, the Olympic Games will take place in such a tense security atmosphere. They are scheduled for July 26 – August 11 in Paris, a city that always has numerous tourists even without the global sports event. During these dates, a true full house is expected: all accommodations have long been booked, and it is impossible to buy tickets to Paris for these dates even at speculative prices. Therefore, it’s worth reminding once again that there will be unprecedented crowds.
The French side understands the seriousness of the situation, and preparatory work has been ongoing for over a year. President Macron hoped that during the Olympic Games, a truce could be negotiated not only in Ukraine but also in the Middle East. Long diplomatic work provided hope that this could be agreed upon. Even athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to compete, but not as representatives of their countries, rather as individual athletes.
Professional Pessimism
The activity was so extensive that Macron discussed Olympic security even with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Xi confidently supported the idea of a truce, which is common practice among warring countries. Most European leaders joined in and were almost certain that the situation would stabilize for a while during the sporting events.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed pessimism, commenting without illusions. He said he did not believe in such a truce format, as Russia has too often demonstrated that it does not adhere to any agreements. At the time, this pessimistic position was attributed to the fact that Ukraine is the affected party. Understandably, it is hard for Ukrainians to believe that their enemy can behave in a civilized manner.
Talking vs Doing
But on May 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he did not support Macron’s idea of a truce during the Paris Olympics. For Europeans, this was a cold shower, and Macron bitterly remarked, “And he claimed to be ready for peace!” The French President emphasized that Putin’s almost weekly statements about his readiness for peace turned out to be empty words.
One can only hope that this unpleasant surprise will serve to open the eyes of world politicians to the nature of the regime they are up against and the value of the statements and propaganda speeches from the Russians.
