Roxana Maracineanu, Minister in charge of Sports, will travel to Beijing from February 11 to 15 to support the athletes but will not attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics next Friday. After the Minister of National Education and Sports Jean-Michel Blanquer, who announced two weeks ago that he would not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games on February 4, Roxana Maracineanu, Minister in in charge of Sports, confirmed his absence during the curtain raiser. But the former swimming champion said on Monday that she would travel to China from February 11 to 15. in order to show its support for the French athletes in the running as well as their management, and to show them the consideration of the State “. In particular, she will attend the team snowboardcross events on the 12th, the men’s giant the next day as well as ice dancing events. The United States has called for a diplomatic boycott The timing of the Minister Delegate is “ constrained by the examination of the sports law and the calendar of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union since the minister chairs a meeting at Unesco on February 7 and 8 “says his cabinet. Earlier today, Tony Estanguet, boss of Paris 2024, positive for Covid, announced to give up going to China. It is Étienne Thobois, general manager of the organizing committee, who should therefore take his place in the Beijing Bird’s Nest on Friday to represent the OCOG alongside Brigitte Henriques, president of the CNOSF. ” Most European countries […] have the same strategy of having zero or reasonable attendance, that is, not from the level of Head of State or Government, at the opening ceremony. Probably for us, it will be later that the Minister for Sports will go there “, had already justified Sunday Clément Beaune, Secretary of State in charge of European affairs, on RTL. Several weeks ago, at the initiative of the United States, which called for a diplomatic boycott of the Games, many countries announced that they would not send any officials to China to protest against human rights violations in the country.