As the Paris 2024 Olympics are underway, Israel’s national anthem was met with boos from the audience before Israel’s Olympic soccer match against Mali on Wednesday night, according to the Associated Press.
While under heightened international tensions and significant safety concerns of large-scale protests in the stadium, the Israeli soccer team arrived at Parc des Princes stadium escorted by a substantial police presence, including motorbike riders and riot police vans.
While fans from both countries seemed to remain calm in the 48,000-capacity stadium, as the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah, began to play it was drowned out by boos and whistles, AP reported.
According to the AP, the stadium’s speaker system became notably louder, seemingly in an attempt to overpower the jeers.
Meanwhile, Mali’s anthem was met with proud singing from its supporters.
However, throughout the game, Israeli players faced continuous booing whenever they touched the ball.
In addition, more contention came when security personnel had to step in during a heated altercation among fans, where a woman was holding a Palestinian flag, joined by two others with similar flags.
Newsweek has reached out to the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee via email for comment.
The Paris Olympics comes more than nine months into Israel’s war against Hamas, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes in Gaza. More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, per AP. The rising death toll has led to international calls for a ceasefire and heavy division over the conflict.
Adding to the contention, Mali has broken off diplomatic relations with Israel and is against the current Israeli military operation in Gaza, AP reports.
Meanwhile, France is under immense pressure to ensure the safety of the Olympic Games, which will run from July 26 to August 11 with a total of 10,500 athletes representing 206 countries, due to its history of extremist attacks and the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
France’s Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, and Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez, who were also present during Wednesday’s soccer game, have previously reassured that Israeli athletes would receive around-the-clock protection from the elite police unit GIGN, responsible for counterterrorism and VIP security, AP reported.
“Police forces will have no vacation this summer in order to guarantee everyone’s safety and in particular, delegations deemed sensitive such as the Israeli delegation for which we have reinforced security thanks to our elite units,” National Police spokesperson Sonia Fibleuil said earlier Wednesday, according to AP. “All the matches deemed sensitive will see heightened security with special forces and elite units but also a wider security apparatus with special resources.”
Paris has also committed to deploying 35,000 police officers daily during the Olympics, with up to 45,000 for the opening ceremony. Additionally, 10,000 soldiers will be involved in security operations, with reinforcements from over 40 countries contributing at least 1,900 police officers.
“We owe this security to the whole world,” Darmanin stated. “The threats to our country are the threats that concern the Western world.”
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
