French association rejects Olympic torch for environmental reasons

'Clean my Calanques' coastal clean-ups in Marseille and in the crystal-clear waters of the Calanques National Park.

A French ecological association has refused to carry the Olympic torch because of the presence of official sponsor Coca-Cola, whose cans are among the “most collected” rubbish when cleaning the coastline, it was announced on Monday.

“We are not going to carry a torch paid for by those who make us bend down” to collect rubbish, Éric Akopian, founder of the ‘Clean my Calanques’ association based in Marseille, told AFP. The Olympic flame will arrive in the southeastern French Mediterranean city on 8 May aboard the sailboat ‘Belem’ and will then travel across the country until the Games’ opening ceremony on 26 July.

Founded in 2017, the association organises coastal clean-ups in Marseille and in the crystal-clear waters of the Calanques National Park, as well as environmental protection and awareness-raising activities.

In a video posted on social media, the association explained its decision by saying that it was “not against sport or athletes”, but against everything that surrounds the Games, such as “sponsors.” Coca-Cola is one of the “most polluting companies in the world”, one of the “biggest producers of plastic”, according to Akopian, who also highlighted the ecological problem of Olympic “souvenirs.”



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