Yes, the decision to exclude Russians and Belarusians would have serious geopolitical consequences, and one can understand the reluctance of the IOC, and of anyone sincerely committed to the humanist values of sport.

But Russian athletes are not like other athletes.

Just after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where they theoretically competed under a neutral flag, but wearing Russian colors and with a work by the neutral composer Tchaikovsky as their anthem, "Shoigu (the Russian Minister of Defense) thanked the CSKA athletes (45 medals out of 71) for their significant contribution to improving the prestige of the Russian army and the country as a whole. He promised the army's full support in preparation for the next Olympics (in Paris) ."

You read that right: the full support of an army that Putin has also assured of full support in his war of aggression in Ukraine.

In summary, the Russian army currently has two priorities: destroying Ukraine, and winning as many medals as possible in Paris.

Russian athletes are not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC (unless they have personally participated in war crimes). It is up to the international sports movement to draw conclusions from the systematic and absolute disregard for Olympic principles by Russian sport as a whole, a disregard that has persisted for many years.

Certainly, there are many countries that do not perfectly respect these principles. But in this respect, Russia is simply out of the running, which justifies taking this expression literally.

Without a response commensurate with the challenge, the very credibility of Olympic principles would be seriously damaged.

Can France, the host country but also the country of Olympic renewal in the modern era, remain indifferent to such an attack?