French Public Reacts to Controversial Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony
Reactions to the Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies in Paris on Friday have been mixed, with some viewers expressing displeasure. The ceremonies, which featured a boat parade down the Seine River, included performances by international artists and Olympians.
The ceremonies also featured a live reenactment of the Last Supper with drag queens and a ménage à trois sequence. The Last Supper, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, is located in Italy, not Paris.
The French Bishops’ Conference released a statement on X, expressing their deep regret over the “scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity” in the ceremony.
“This morning, we are thinking of all the Christians who have been hurt by the outrageousness and provocation of certain scenes,” the French Bishops’ Conference added.
President Emmanuel Macron defended the controversial opening ceremonies on X, saying, “Thanks to Thomas Jolly and his creative genius for this grandiose ceremony. Thank you to the artists for this unique and magical moment. Thank you to the police and emergency services, agents and volunteers. “
Macron added, “Thank you to everyone who believed in it. We’ll talk about it again in 100 years! WE DID IT !”
Thomas Jolly, a French actor and theater director from Rouen, was brought on two years ago to direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paris Olympics.
However, not all French citizens were impressed with the ceremonies.
One French X user, @JulietteBriens, wrote “As a sincerely patriotic French girl, I disolidarise myself from this freakshow and apologize to you, world.”
Her post featured screenshots of the scenes considered most controversial, including a close-up of the ménage à trois scene.
Another X user from France, @Arwenstar posted “As a French woman I am deeply embarrassed by this #OpeningCeremony and would like to apologise to the entire world for subjecting you all to this sick farce. Don’t hate us, it isn’t us, it’s the woke metropolitan elite – they ruin f****** everything.”
A video has gone viral online of a French family reacting to the Last Supper reenactment, with the caption “POV: You’re watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games and you realize it’s the last season of the Smurfs.”
In the video, one member of the family can be heard shouting, “No no no no no no! What is that?!”
According to Variety, a total of 28.6 million Americans tuned in to watch the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremonies.