Busch on Olympic sabotage: Condemns it in the strongest possible terms

Energy and Trade Minister Ebba Busch (KD) is on site at the OS opening ceremony. She herself got stuck in the train chaos on the way to Paris due to last night's sabotage. Sweden condemns the severe sabotage of the French railway system, she says.

» Published: July 26 2024

Busch on Olympic sabotage: Condemns it in the strongest possible terms
Photo: Mickan Mörk/TT

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Energy and Trade Minister Ebba Busch (KD) is on site at the Olympic inauguration.

She herself got stuck in the train chaos on her way to Paris due to the night's events.

Sweden condemns the sabotage of the French railway system in the strongest possible terms, she says.

Ebba Busch traveled by train from Brussels to Paris earlier on Friday and was delayed several hours. During the night, five locations along the TGV lines to the French capital were attacked, causing chaos ahead of the Olympic inauguration.

Sweden condemns the sabotage we have seen on the French railway systems and is impressed by the security and safety measures France has taken, says Busch.

France has the capacity to handle this type of situation, she continues.

It's an enormous security effort.

Kristersson joins

She is, as Vice Prime Minister, the Swedish government's representative on site in Paris, later during the games, Minister of Sports Jakob Forssmed will also participate, and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson plans to visit the Paralympics.

Despite the security effort, the games are characterized by openness, says Busch, pointing to the arenas built in the city center.

This is an important Olympic Games, sometimes one wonders: isn't it just a game? I think there is a very strong unifying force in sports that allows us to meet across national borders.

With the turmoil the world has gone through and is going through in recent years, I think we need more of that.

Only 15 athletes from Russia are allowed to participate in the games under a neutral flag. They are not participating in the opening ceremony. Sweden would have preferred that both Russian and Belarusian athletes were not allowed to participate in the Olympics.

It's important to avoid anything that can signal normalization or be used by Russia or Belarus in their propaganda.

Will watch Sjöström and "Mondo"

Regarding Israeli athletes participating in the games, Busch says:

We continue to urge both parties to implement the "roadmap" for a ceasefire. But we welcome the fact that we have both Israeli and Palestinian athletes on site.

Otherwise, she looks forward to the spectacular inauguration on the Seine, watching the riders compete in Versailles, Sarah Sjöström in the pool, and Armand "Mondo" Duplantis aiming for a world record in pole vault.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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