The Games of Shame: CAGE International to Unveil Critical Report on Paris 2024 Olympics

London - Today CAGE International will unveil a groundbreaking report titled “The Games of Shame: Can the 2024 Paris Olympics Whitewash Genocide and Widespread Exclusion?” The report exposes the alarming levels of Islamophobia and anti-social discrimination embedded within the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Olympics, traditionally a symbol of global unity and inclusivity, offer the host nation an unparalleled opportunity to showcase its cultural and social values. However, CAGE International’s report critically examines how the Paris 2024 Olympics have already compromised these values, highlighting France’s troubling record on Islamophobia, particularly within the realms of sports as well as the government’s ongoing support for the genocide taking place in Gaza.

The report reveals that Muslim athletes and visitors from Muslim-majority countries face significant barriers and discrimination, undermining the spirit of equality and respect central to the Olympic ethos. The research also highlights how the government is using the games to whitewash its complicity in the crimes against humanity taking place in Gaza.

Key findings of the report include:

• Systemic Islamophobia: France’s restrictive legislation and societal stigmatisation create an inhospitable environment for visibly Muslim athletes, particularly women who wear the hijab, directly contradicting the Olympic Committee’s mission to empower women and promote inclusivity.

• Geopolitical Implications: The report underscores France’s complicity in international conflicts, notably highlighting the normalisation of Israel’s presence at the Olympics despite the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This complicity raises critical ethical questions about the host country’s legitimacy and the true values represented by the Games.

• Local Exclusion and Displacement: Vulnerable populations, including migrants, homeless individuals, and students, have been displaced and marginalised in the lead-up to the Games, reflecting a broader agenda of gentrification and exclusion that starkly contrasts with the Olympic values of human dignity and social cohesion.

• Erosion of Civil Liberties: Heightened security measures and pervasive surveillance around the Olympic venues contribute to a climate of fear and repression, undermining the freedoms that the Olympics are supposedly meant to celebrate.

As the stark reality of the report’s findings reveal the true nature of the Olympics, the international community is urged to boycott the games in solidarity with Palestinians and those who have been targeted by the French government’s deeply Islamophobic and discriminatory policies. The report calls on the international community to hold the Paris 2024 Organising Committee accountable for these serious ethical violations. It reveals that instead of fostering social cohesion and inclusivity, the Paris 2024 Olympics are set to perpetuate further injustices and inequalities among its Muslim citizens as well as those from lower backgrounds and endorses the ongoing and live-streamed genocide taking place in Gaza. 

Muhammad Rabbani, Managing Director of CAGE International, said:

“The Paris 2024 Olympics are being promoted as a beacon of unity and inclusion, yet the reality on the ground tells a very different story. Our report highlights how France’s Islamophobic Systematic Obstruction Policy as well as the government’s continued support for the genocide in Gaza directly contradicts its supposed ideals of equality, inclusion and respect.

Wwe call upon states to boycott Paris as was the case in the 6 Olympics held in Melbourne (1956), Tokyo (1964), Montreal (1976), Moscow (1980), Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988) so as to not legitimise and normalise Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims.”