Image of Kenya’s representatives during the Olympics opening ceremony. Screenshot from the video “L'Afrique et les Jeux Olympiques, bien plus qu'une affaire de sport • FRANCE 24″ on the France 24 YouTube channel. Fair use.joe

Since July 26, 2024, the world has been abuzz with various 2024 Paris Olympic Games sports events. In Paris, athletes were not the only ones representing the African continent: They were also joined by African journalists covering the events for an African public.

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As few African media outlets can afford to send their journalists on location for more than two weeks, Olympic coverage has long been the responsibility of non-African journalists for budgetary reasons. However, this year was the exception. As part of the Paris Médias 2024 project, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games organizing committee invited several African journalists to provide an African perspective on this global event for the first time in the Olympic Games history. Every day, several journalists gave their thoughts on these aspects of the Olympic Games in the Regards Africains (African Perspectives) feature on Radio France Internationale (RFI): cultural interactions, the standard of living in Paris, the relationship between France and their country, the organization of the Games, and the African athletes’ performance.

Anxiety over first visit to an expensive Paris

From a fear of being turned away to experiencing a somewhat individualistic culture, Nesta Yamgoto, a Chadian journalist for TchadInfos, was anxious about his entry into France despite his Olympic committee accreditation. He said:

C‘est toujours compliqué pour un Africain de fouler le sol français, parce qu’ils exigent beaucoup de documents. Une fois arrivé devant le douanier, je me suis dit que peut-être que le gars va dire qu’une pièce manque. Il m’a regardé dans les yeux, et je me dis “Qu’est-ce qu’il cherche exactement”. Les quelques secondes ont duré presque cinq minutes dans ma tête. Au bout d’un instant, il m’a dit “c’est bon, vous pouvez passer”, il m’a donné le tampon et voilà – c’était un ouf de soulagement.

J’ai un sentiment un peu bizarre parce qu’il n'y a pas ce “bonjour-bonjour, comment vous allez”, il n’y a pas ça ici. C’est chacun pour soi, chacun est concentré sur ce qu’il fait. On peut prendre un métro pendant 40 minutes, mais on ne pourra pas dire ou échanger avec quelqu’un. J’ai envie d’échanger, de discuter et de connaître comment les gens vivent. Mais pour découvrir, il faut échanger avec les autres, et malheureusement, ce n'est pas le cas, je n'ai pas échangé avec un Parisien x comme ça.

It’s always difficult for an African person to visit France, as they require many documents. Once I reached the customs inspector, I figured the guy might say something was missing. He looked me in the eye, and I thought, “What exactly is he looking for.” These few seconds felt like almost five minutes to me. After a moment, he said, “That’s fine; you can go through.” He gave me the entry stamp, and that was it. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I feel slightly awkward because there’s no “Hello-hello, how are you.” There’s no such thing here. It’s every man for himself, focused on the task at hand. You can be on the métro for 40 minutes and not talk to anyone. I want to interact, talk, and learn how people live. However, to learn this, you must interact with others. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen here. I haven’t talked to a Parisian like that.

Kena-Did Ibrahim Houssein, a Djiboutian journalist who had the opportunity to participate in the first ceremony in honor of international journalists, spoke to RFI about the relationship between Djibouti and France:

(…)Djibouti et la France, partagent des relations historiques fraternelles, qui dans le temps se renforcent et se consolident. Je pense que le peuple français et djiboutien ont beaucoup à partager, et beaucoup de valeurs communes. (…) Les Djiboutiens et la France, c’est une relation quasi familiale, on est d’une même famille. Et lorsqu’on se trouve en France, c’est toujours la même joie de retrouver le peuple français.

(…)Djibouti and France share historical and fraternal relations that have grown stronger over time. I think the French and Djiboutian people have a lot in common, and many shared values. (…) Djiboutians and France, we’re from the same family. And when we’re in France, it’s always the same joy to meet the French people again.

One of the most noteworthy features of international sports events is the high cost of living. Living standards and the high cost of certain products surprised Congolese journalist Michel Tobo Nkosi. He was astonished that a simple Olympic Games baseball cap could cost an amount that could feed an entire family for a week in his country. He said:

J’ai vu une casquette, on a mis seulement un logo de Paris 2024 dessus, à 45 euros quand même. 45 euros c’est à peu près chez moi au Congo 190 000 francs congolais. Avec cette somme, une famille de 3 ou 4 personnes peut vivre pendant une semaine. Et dépenser cela rien que pour une casquette, il y a un petit picotement quand même dans le cœur. Moi par exemple, je suis marié, si ma femme entend que j’ai dépensé 50 dollars rien que pour acheter une casquette, je vous assure que je vais mal terminer à la maison.

I saw a baseball cap with the Paris 2024 logo for EUR 45. EUR 45 is around CDF 190,000. A family of three or four could live on this for a week. Spending that kind of money on a baseball cap makes my heart pound. For example, I’m married, and if my wife found out I’d spent USD 50 on a baseball cap, I can assure you that things wouldn’t end well for me at home.

Discovering a wealth of culture

Paris is a city famous for its tourist attractions, and Beninese journalist Romance Vinakpon explored Paris, thus allowing him to see the city’s social inequalities and wealth of culture firsthand.

Quand on est à Cotonou et qu’on parle de la France sans avoir encore eu la chance de venir, on ne pense qu’à la tour Eiffel, on ne pense qu’à l’Arc de Triomphe, on ne pense qu’aux grands musées, alors qu’il y a des réalités, par exemple à Château Rouge, on voit des endroits où on a presque envie de se demander si ce sont des bidonvilles ou si ce sont des ghettos. C'est des choses qu’on ne voit pas sur les réseaux sociaux, par exemple.

When you’re in Cotonou and talk about France without ever having had the chance to go there, all you can think about is the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and its major museums. However, in Château Rouge, for example, you see places that make you wonder whether they’re slums or ghettos. These are the things you don’t see on social media.

This journalist also discovered multiple identities there. He said:

(…)il y a tellement de diversités, au niveau de la couleur de peau, au niveau de la culture et des mentalités aussi. Je ne m’attendais pas forcément à ça, mais j’ai compris que beaucoup d’autres nationalités, et beaucoup d’autres cultures, se réunissent à Paris. Pour moi, si toutes ces personnes réussissent à rester ensemble et à vivre ensemble, c’est quand même un message et une manière de faire grandir le monde, car on est tous pareils…

(…)There is so much diversity in skin color, culture, and attitudes. I wasn’t really expecting that. However, I saw that many nationalities and cultures come together in Paris. For me, if all these people can stick together and live together, this sends a message and enriches the world. We’re all equal…

Support for athletes disadvantaged in training

The training conditions before international sports events impact an athlete’s performance. Those from Africa are often disadvantaged. This is what Kiady Arivony Razafiarison, a Malagasy journalist with 2424.mg, tried to explain. According to an interview with RFI, he believes that insufficient resources are why athletes no longer excel in this country. He explained:

À Madagascar, on ne produit presque plus de nouveaux athlètes. Le problème actuellement à Madagascar, c’est le manque de détection des jeunes athlètes. Aujourd’hui en athlétisme, nous n’avons même plus de champions en matière de saut en longueur, de saut en hauteur, de javelot, tout ça. La discipline a presque disparu. Il y a aussi le manque d’infrastructures, qui pénalise fortement la préparation et la progression des athlètes malgaches. Il y a par exemple Jonathan Raharvel qui a critiqué sa préparation. Au lieu de se préparer dans un bassin olympique de 50 mètres, il a préparé les jeux dans un bassin de 25 mètres. Cela a fortement eu raison de sa performance.

In Madagascar, we hardly attract any new athletes. Our current problem is our failure to identify young athletes. In athletics today, we no longer have champions in the long jump, high jump, or javelin. The discipline has all but disappeared. There is also a lack of facilities, which significantly affects the training and progress of Malagasy athletes. For example, Olympic swimmer Jonathan Raharvel criticized his training's conditions. Instead of training in a 50-meter Olympic pool, he trained for the Games in a 25-meter pool. This ultimately had a major impact on his performance.

Guinean journalist Salématou Sylla used her presence at the Olympic Games to support Guinean athletes during this event. In her view, psychological support is crucial and should not be overlooked, especially in defeat:

La plupart, quand ils sont éliminés, cherchent à partir directement pour oublier ce qui s’est passé. Quand il y a la contre-performance, c’est difficile pour beaucoup. Moi, je trouve que c’était important parfois de laisser ce côté journalistique et d'être une grande sœur, mais aussi une guinéenne, parce qu’elles représentent aussi le tricolore guinéen donc dans ce cas de figure-là, il faut être là, essayer de leur remonter le moral pour ne pas qu’elles se renferment sur elles-mêmes.

When eliminated, most athletes try to leave immediately to forget what happened. It can be difficult for many athletes when they underperform. Sometimes, it’s essential to leave the journalistic side behind and be like an older sister and a Guinean. As they also represent the Guinean tricolor, we must try to lift their spirits so they don’t become withdrawn.

This special coverage opportunity allowed African journalists to provide a more inclusive overview of the practicalities and challenges surrounding the organization of this sports event, especially for Africans.