French react to Paris Olympics opening ceremony 'freakshow'

Many French people have reacted to the controversial opening ceremony of the Olympic Games held Friday in Paris, and not all the responses are positive.

The opening ceremony, which took place mainly in the form of a boat parade on the Seine, saw performances by international artists such as Celine Dion and Olympic athletes aboard boats designated by country.

The ceremonies also included a live reenactment of the Last Supper with drag queens and a ménage à trois sequence. The Last Supper, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, is not set in Paris but in Italy, in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

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The French Bishops' Conference issued a statement on X, stating that “this ceremony unfortunately included scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity, which we deeply regret. We would like to thank the members of other religious denominations who expressed their solidarity with us.”

“This morning, we are thinking of all Christians on all continents who have been hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes,” added the French Bishops' Conference.

French President Emmanuel Macron defended the controversial opening ceremony also via X, saying: “Thank you 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, to the officers and volunteers.”

Macron added: “Thank you to everyone who believed in it. We’ll talk about it again in 100 years! WE DID IT!”

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Thomas Jolly, 42, is a French actor and theatre director from Rouen, hired two years ago to direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paris Olympic Games.

However, not all French people admired these ceremonies in the same way.

Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron and Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Christian Liewig – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

French X user @JulietteBriens wrote: “As a sincerely patriotic French girl, I dissociate myself from this freak show and apologize to you, the world.”

Her post included screenshots of what are considered the most controversial scenes from the awards show, including a close-up of the ménage à trois scene.

Another French X user, @Arwenstar posted: “As a French woman, I am deeply embarrassed by this #OpeningCeremony and would like to apologize to the world for subjecting you to this sick farce. Don't hate us, it's not us, it's the woke metropolitan elite – they are ruining everything.”

Florent Manaudou, flag bearer of the French national team, waves his flag during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. (VCG via Getty Images)

A video has gone viral online, showing a French family reacting to the reenactment of the Last Supper, with the caption, “POV: You're watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics and you realize it's the last season of The Smurfs.”

In the video, a family member can be heard yelling, “No no no no no no! What is this?!”

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According to a report by Variety, a total of 28.6 million Americans watched the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.