Paris Olympic Committee: There was no intention to offend any religious group at the opening ceremony

The Paris Olympic Committee said today that there was no "intention to disrespect any religious group" during Friday night's Olympic Games (OI) opening ceremony on the Seine.

"There was never any intention to disrespect any religious group," Committee representative Ann Dekan said at a press conference.

The Bishops' Conference of France assessed today as "scenes of mockery and mockery of Christianity", alluding to the scene during the ceremony, called "The Feast", which begins with a picture of a group at a table, in which several transvestites also appear.

That scene, shown as part of the rich program of the opening of the OI, reminds us of the Last Supper, which according to biblical tradition, is the last supper of Jesus Christ with his apostles.

The artistic director of the opening ceremony of the OI, Tom Joly, denied today that he was inspired by the Last Supper for that scene.

"Was it the Last Supper? It was not my inspiration. I think it was quite clear that Dionysus was coming to that table. He is there, because he is the god of celebration and wine, and the father of Sequana, the goddess of the river," said Žoli. .

The artistic director added that he had no desire to mock or make fun of anyone.

"I wanted to perform a ceremony that makes things right and reconciles. Also that reaffirms the values ​​of our (French) Republic," Joly said.

"We're really sorry if anyone felt offended," Ann Dekan said.

In France, the representative of the French extreme right in the European Parliament, Marion Marechal, also reacted to the scene during the ceremony, who said that she could hardly accept scenes with transvestites and men kissing.