In a candid response, Mayor Anne Hidalgo criticised those who demonised the event, stating, "Forget the reactionaries, forget the far right, forget all those who want to divide us."
The ceremony, which was grossly misinterpreted as a queer representation of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, sparked a crazy backlash by right-wing conservatives, especially from the USA.
However, Hidalgo dismissed these criticisms as baseless and absurd. In an interview with Le Monde, she praised the ceremony as a powerful way to showcase Paris to the world.
"Paris is the city of all freedoms, a refuge for LGBTQI+ people, and a place where diverse communities live together."
She acknowledged that while there is both admiration and misunderstanding of Paris (and French history), the negativity hasn't overshadowed the success of the Games.
"The far right's messaging has been drowned out by the positivity of these Games and the opening ceremony. Something truly remarkable is happening."
Among the critics were U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who labelled the ceremony a "satanic drag show," also said, "I'm very open-minded, but I thought what they did was a disgrace. I mean, they can do certain things. I thought it was terrible."
Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and self-described misogynist who is currently stuck in Romania as he awaits trial on charges of human trafficking, led a right-wing protest outside the French embassy in Bucharest (southern Romania), accusing the Paris Olympics of 'mocking Jesus' in its opening ceremony.
In a post on X, Tate wrote: "I am protesting outside of the French embassy for mocking Jesus during the Olympic ceremony."
Despite all this drama over nothing, Paris 2024 has proven to be one the most inclusive and friendly games in history, especially for our Australian athletes who are raking in the medals like never before!
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