French charity boycotts Olympic torch relay because of Coca-Cola May 1st, 2024

The Olympic flame was handed over to the Paris organizers last Friday during a ceremony in Greece (Aris MESSINIS)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

French charity boycotts Olympic torch relay because of Coca-Cola

A French environmental charity said it had turned down the chance to take part in the torch relay ahead of the Paris Olympics because of Coca-Cola's role as the main sponsor.

"Clean My Calanques", a Marseille-based NGO specializing in beach clean-ups, received funding from the 2024 Paris Olympics organizing committee for its work educating schoolchildren.

But it announced on Monday that it would not take part in the torch relay, which will begin in Marseille on May 8, thanks in part to funding from Coca-Cola, the Olympics' premium sponsor.

"We're not going to carry a flame that is paid for by the same people who make us bow down," Clean My Calanques founder Eric Akopian told AFP.

Created in 2017, the organization's volunteers clean the beaches around Marseille and in the nearby Calanques National Park, whose narrow coves and blue waters make it a popular spot for tourists and locals alike.

Akopian said that Coca-Cola is one of the "most polluting companies in the world", with its bottles and cans being some of the most frequently found products during the charity's beach cleaning operations.

In a video message posted on Instagram, he said that the organization had decided that it was "not comfortable" with the commercial aspects of the Olympics, although he stressed that he had "nothing against sports or athletes".

Akopian noted the mass production of so-called "gifts" linked to the Games, such as stickers, key rings, pens, or mascots.

"They may look cute, but we know we'll find them on the coast," he told AFP.

French authorities say around 150,000 people are expected to gather in Marseille for the start of the torch relay, which will take the Olympic flame across mainland France and the country's overseas territories in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean.

The Olympic Games will begin on July 26 and run until August 11, followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.

The organizers of Paris 2024 have worked with Coca-Cola to reduce plastic waste from the packaging of its drinks.

The group has agreed to install 700 drinking fountains with a new design in the Olympic venues, which means that around 50% of soft drinks will be served without plastic bottles, according to the organizing committee.

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