French President François Hollande has announced that he will not attend the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In fact, according to the Guardian, France’s foreign minister said that none of the top French officials will be going to Sochi this February.
Germany’s President will not attend the Olympic games, either.
“Last week German President Joachim Gauck also said he was not going to the games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
“Activists have urged leaders to boycott the event over human rights concerns, including a new Russian law banning “homosexual propaganda.” …
“Mr Gauck announced he would not attend the Sochi games last weekend, but did not elaborate either. European Commission deputy head Viviane Reding has also said she was not attending.” – BBC
It’s suspected that these French and German officials are boycotting the Sochi games due to human rights concerns and Russia’s anti-homosexuality laws.
However, the AFP is reporting that:
“Mr Gauck has rejected media reports he is boycotting Russia over its rights record.”
European Union Justice Commisioner Viviane Reding tweeted on her official account last week that she would:
“certainly not go to Sochi as long as minorities are treated the way they are under the current Russian legislation.”
Russia is making sure that this Olympics is a success by stockpiling 450,000 cubic meters of snow from last season, getting shamans to pray for snow, adding 550 snowmaking machines to Sochi’s slopes, and spending $50 billion on the event, the most money ever spent on any Olympic games.
