The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics sparked outrage among some French citizens, who took to social media to express their disapproval of the inclusion of drag queens in a parody of the Last Supper and a ménage à trois sequence. The French Bishops' Conference condemned the scenes as "mockery and derision of Christianity," while President Emmanuel Macron defended the ceremony as "a grandiose celebration."
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, held on Friday, July 26, has sparked outrage among some French citizens, who have taken to social media to criticize the inclusion of drag queens in a parody of the Last Supper and a ménage à trois sequence.
The ceremony, held mainly as a boat parade down the River Seine, featured performances from international artists like Céline Dion and Olympian athletes onboard boats designated by country. However, it also included a live reenactment of the Last Supper with drag queens and a ménage à trois sequence.
French Outrage over Controversial Opening Ceremony Parody of Last Supper
The Last Supper, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, is not located in Paris but in Italy at the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The French Bishops' Conference released a statement on Saturday, expressing their "deep regret" over the scenes, which they said included "mockery and derision of Christianity."
French Outrage over Controversial Opening Ceremony Parody of Last Supper
"This morning, we are thinking of all the Christians on every continent who have been hurt by the outrageousness and provocation of certain scenes," the statement added.
French President Emmanuel Macron defended the controversial opening ceremonies on Saturday, saying "Thanks to Thomas Jolly and his creative genius for this grandiose ceremony. Thank you to the artists for this unique and magical moment. Thank you to the police and emergency services, agents and volunteers."
French Outrage over Controversial Opening Ceremony Parody of Last Supper
Macron added, "Thank you to everyone who believed in it. We'll talk about it again in 100 years! WE DID IT !"
Thomas Jolly, 42, is a French actor and theater director from Rouen who was brought on two years ago to direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Not all French people equally admired the ceremonies, however.
One French Twitter user, @JulietteBriens, wrote "As a sincerely patriotic French girl, I disolidarise myself from this freakshow and apologize to you, world."
Her post featured screengrabs of the scenes considered most controversial from the ceremonies, including a close-up of the ménage à trois scene.
Another Twitter user from France, @Arwenstar posted "As a French woman I am deeply embarrassed by this #OpeningCeremony and would like to apologise to the entire world for subjecting you all to this sick farce. Don’t hate us, it isn’t us, it’s the woke metropolitan elite - they ruin f** everything"
A video has gone viral online of a French family reacting to the Last Supper reenactment, with the caption "POV: You're watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games and you realize it's the last season of the Smurfs."
In the video, one member of the family can be heard shouting, "No no no no no no! What is that?!"
According to reporting from Variety, a total of 28.6 million Americans tuned in to watch the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremonies.
