Macron’s dream of peace during the Olympics. Hoffman suspects why it won’t work out

IVAN HOFFMAN’S VIEW The Rio Olympics in Paris seem like a good opportunity for Emmanuel Macron to get the Russians, the Israelis and everyone else to stop fighting. Ivan Hoffman sees this project with skepticism. “Wars are not interrupted for the sake of sport, they are only reported less during the games,” summarizes today’s concept of the ancient custom.

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A truce in Ukraine and Gaza at the time of the Olympic Games in Paris, that is the dream of French President Emmanuel Macron. He is neither the first nor the last who would like to revive the ancient tradition, when due to sports games, sacred peace reigned for five days thanks to the strict prohibition of wars and other violence. Incidentally, in addition to athletes, politicians also traveled to Olympia, for whom the games were an opportunity to conclude political agreements and strengthen national and cultural relations.

The French president apparently feels that his voice and his credibility are not enough, so he intends to ask Chinese President Xi Jinping for help in negotiating a ceasefire. It is unclear whether the idea of ​​an Olympic truce will be supported by other authorities. But it is certainly good that the Olympic truce is being talked about. Every day that man doesn’t kill man counts, and it’s good to remember that sport was once a reason for a truce.

Hamas, Israel, Russia and Ukraine will ultimately decide whether or not to stop fighting during the Olympics. If the purpose of the truce is the safety of the athletes, then the truce has no practical meaning. Hamas and Russia will not be represented by athletes in Paris, and the representatives of Israel and Ukraine will not face a dangerous journey to Paris through countries wracked by violence. They will be transported safely and comfortably to the venue of the games by air.

Unfortunately, there is no precedent for an Olympic truce in modern history. Wars are not interrupted for the sake of sport, they are only reported less during the games. For example, it did not occur to the Americans to reach an Olympic truce during the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. As the Olympic Games have become a prestigious event, an opportunity to promote the host countries and regimes, there is a lack of will to separate sport from politics. The games are usually accompanied by a political boycott and some athletes are discriminated against because of who they represent. Sport is not an opportunity to put aside enmity, but on the contrary it is an opportunity to enmity, to humiliate the enemy.

At this point it is fair to recall how things once turned out in Greece. As time went on, professionals, members of the lower classes, trained in one discipline competed more and more often at the Olympic Games. And since the 3rd century AD, competitors of non-Greek origin have already competed. When the Roman emperors organized the Olympics after the Romans conquered Greece, the Syrians, Phoenicians, Illyrians, Africans and Babylonians won over the Greeks, who found themselves in a minority. There are no longer odes to winners, cases of corruption are multiplying, the standard is falling. In the end, the Christians banned the Olympics as a pagan evil, specifically Emperor Theodosius I in 393.

The ethos of Olympic competition, and sport in general, is overrated. An Olympic truce doesn’t stand a chance if athletes from hostile countries can’t shake hands. The Olympic Truce would complicate the conduct of the war. No one wants to risk an opponent abusing the truce and gaining an advantage. Above all, however, a cease-fire is a state in which there is no bombing, no shooting, so no money is made from the war. Macron, a former Rothschild investment banker, must be clear about that.

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