France Charges Seven Over Cyber Harassment Linked to Paris Olympic Ceremony Controversy
Drag queen Piche prepares to perform, at the Debilly Bridge in Paris, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
On Friday Oct. 25 French authorities revealed they had charged seven individuals in connection with the cyberbullying of Thomas Jolly, the creative director for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
After the controversial yet bold opening of the Olympic ceremony this summer on July 26, Jolly came under astute criticism from conservatives and religious figures. This high-energy event was an unprecedented fusion of modern and historic France, which seemingly included a drag-queen parody of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci with Greek paganism — something organisers have denied.
Many Christians worldwide were angered and upset at this perceived mocking of Jesus and his disciples. Some instances include Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister who mentioned the “moral void of the West” and the French Catholic Church which said they deplored the ceremony’s inclusion of “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity”. Opposition has also been voiced by key international figures such as Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, the Anglican Communion in Egypt, Matteo Salvini (a leader in the Italian government), the Russian Foreign Ministry and former President Donald Trump.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo spoke out strongly against this far-right criticism, using expletives to accuse opposers of stoking further division in French society. Indeed, supporters of Jolly's artistic choices were thrilled with the opening ceremony, sympathising with the view that the representation of LGBTQ+ identities serves as an important celebration of inclusivity and diversity.
Olympic Communications Director Anne Descamps has since apologised in a press conference saying, “if people have taken any offence we are really sorry,” and Jolly echoed that this unintentional depiction wasn’t driven by any malice.
However, many individuals continued to take to the media to primarily harass Thomas Jolly and a DJ who was also involved in the ceremony. Jolly filed a complaint on July 31 which has recently resulted in the arrest of 7 people by French authorities. Ranging from the ages of 22-79, these people were charged with death threats, cyberbullying and aggravated insults which can potentially result in prison time and/or fines. The seven accused will have their court hearing on March 5.
Many supporters are shocked by this backlash and praise this arrest as a defence of the French state’s commitment to progressive values and a safeguard against online intimidation. However, regardless of one’s stance on the debate, another valuable lens for understanding this issue is as part of a broader shift in France’s national identity.
A Torah is pictured at the Ohel Yaacov Synagogue in Marseille, southern France, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Enshrined in French law, laïcité, loosely translated as secularism, mandates a strict freedom of public spaces from religious influence. This concept is increasingly coming into conflict with more traditionalist views, particularly in light of the fact that 54% of France’s population considers itself to be religious. The Olympic games displayed this debate about the limits of freedom of expression, not just in this online harassment of Thomas Jolly, but also the hijab ban on the athletes themselves.
The arrests raise questions for some about the extent to which secularism, as practised in France, should accommodate diverse religious perspectives—or whether laïcité in its current form promotes a specific worldview that excludes freedom of religious expression in the public sphere.
With the Paris Olympics as an international stage, France’s approach to these questions will undoubtedly be watched closely by those both within and beyond its borders, as a test of how the country will navigate its commitment to secularism while respecting diverse beliefs and traditions.