PARIS (AP) — French sprinter S’Nkamba Shira said she has been barred from taking part in Friday’s opening ceremony. Paris Olympics Because she wears a hijab, the French Olympic Committee said it would work with her to find a solution that would comply with secular requirements for athletes on the team.
Silla, 26, a member of France’s 400m women’s and mixed relay teams, aired her frustration on Instagram on Sunday.
“You’ve been selected to compete in your country’s Olympics, yet you can’t attend the opening ceremony because you’re wearing a headscarf,” she wrote.
In France, ” Laïcité French Olympic Committee president David Lappartien said Wednesday that France’s Olympians are bound by the principle of secularism, separation of church and state, which applies to France’s public sector workers and includes a ban on the hijab.
“It may not be understood in other countries in the world, but here in France it’s part of our DNA,” he said.
Lappartien said he was in talks with Sylla to find a solution that would comply with the secular requirements of the French Olympic team while at the same time respecting the athletes’ “legitimate wish to have their beliefs respected.”
“I am confident that a solution will be found,” he said. “I hope that everyone will be able to take part in the opening ceremony.”
Sylla’s post drew support from fellow athletes, including members of the French Olympic team, who expressed their outrage. Pole vaulter Marie-Julie Bonnin commented on Sylla’s post, saying it was “unbelievable,” while relay teammate Muhammad Abdallah Kunta added, “They say liberty, equality, fraternity. Please share this. This is not normal.”
Sylla has competed in a black scarf in several competitions so far, including the 2022 and 2023 World Championships and the World Relays in May 2024.
At the opening ceremony on Friday, the French delegation will wear custom uniforms made by Berluti, a French luxury brand owned by the LVMH group.
France’s sports minister, Amélie Oudea Castella, said LVMH was working to “devise creative solutions to ensure everyone’s comfort.”
Sylla’s hijab first became an issue ahead of the European Championships in Rome earlier this year. The solution was to incorporate a blue cap into the team’s uniforms, which Odea-Castella said “respected our principles.” Sylla had a scrap of fabric sewn into the cap that she wore to hide her hair. It is unclear whether Sylla will wear a similar hairpiece in Paris.
“We want to follow the same logic, which is why we are in discussions with LVMH and Berluti. I am confident,” Udea Castella said.
