Le JDD: "Louis de Bourbon: The Olympics opening ceremony, a distorted spectacle!"

Surpassing oneself, respecting others. This is a fine lesson that we can draw from the Olympic Games for the whole world in general, but of course for France in particular. In the great tradition of antiquity, the Games celebrate what is good and beautiful in man. The athletes we will see compete will arouse both our admiration and our enthusiasm, in a welcome festive atmosphere after a year punctuated by international and national crises. I therefore hope that the Paris Olympic Games will be a moment of healthy communion for all French people, a break from our daily worries.

However, despite this enthusiasm in which I take part, as an elder of the House of Bourbon, as a descendant of the forty Kings who made France, I cannot remain silent in the face of the sorry spectacle of part of the opening ceremony. While the artistic and technical performances during this one were worthy of what France is all about, some took pleasure in distilling a mortifying and abject ideological content. Departing from the Olympic Games' original aim of bringing people together in a respectful atmosphere accessible to all, young and old alike, some scenes were deliberately offensive and provocative. Once again, the current regime has shown its true face, profoundly anti-Christian, oblivious to France's long past, of which the Christian monarchy is a part, and eager to put the spotlight on troubled times when only terror and division reigned. While the ceremony was intended to be inclusive and respectful of all, both the Catholic religion and the dead - what did the massacre of poor Queen Marie-Antoinette have to do with it? - were marked by the seal of infamy and derision.

I refuse to let France conform to the model that has been presented. Our country is worth more than blood and raucous burlesque. Before it was the mother of revolutions and wanton progressivism, France was the Eldest Daughter of the Church and the home of Letters, the Arts and refinement. As long as my House remains, and with the support of many French people of good will, we will never cease to show that another path is possible, that greatness is better than sarcasm, that Beauty is better than ugliness, that Truth is better than lies.

To all the French people who have felt humiliated and scorned, to all the sportsmen and women with a sense of the sacred and religious, to all the other peoples of the world who have been outraged, I say to you, France is not the spectacle you witnessed. It was nothing more than the emanation of ideologues who trampled on a thousand-year-old heritage to which they are indebted. A ceremony of this magnitude can only be planned and thought through in advance. Nothing is left to chance or clumsiness. Our country is under increasing attack from this profoundly unnatural and destructive ideology. So, with every passing day, it's up to us French to choose the model we want for France. We must rebuild our beloved homeland, and build a solid, credible future, anchored in tradition, respect and union. May Saint Louis protect France, and give strength to our athletes, so that genuine French pride shines forth as a model for other nations.

By Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou

Published on July 27, 2024