Latest news with #ThomasJolly
LeMonde
5 days ago
- Sport
- LeMonde
One year later, the contested legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics
It was Friday, July 26, 2024, at dawn. Just hours before the opening of the Paris Olympic Games, panic spread among organizers. Trains were paralyzed by a "massive attack" on the TGV high-speed rail network, and torrents of rain were forecast for the capital. The Games had not even begun, and were already turning into a nightmare. But by midnight that same day, France was rubbing its eyes in disbelief, dazzled by the opening ceremony imagined by Thomas Jolly along the Seine. Soon after, the first gold medals for the French team poured in before sold-out arenas. France quickly plunged into a fervor that, for a fortnight, restored a sense of national pride to a country divided by the snap elections earlier that summer. One year later, what remains of that "enchanted interlude," apart from memories of shared jubilation in transformed venues? The Games' organizers promised a physical legacy. The Olympic Aquatics Center opened to the public on June 2, 2025, in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. The seven other swimming pools built or renovated in Seine-Saint-Denis for the Games helped address the underpriviliged Paris suburbs' shortage of sports facilities, and the athletes' and media villages gave rise to 4,000 new homes.
LeMonde
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- LeMonde
Thomas Jolly, director of Paris 2024 Olympics ceremonies: 'You're always reminded of where you come from'
One year ago, France was buzzing with excitement for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. As the artistic director of the opening and closing ceremonies, Thomas Jolly delivered bold and extraordinary performances. At 43, the theater and opera director, known for his spectacular productions, such as his acclaimed staging of the musical Starmania, received an honorary Molière award, the French equivalent of the Tonys, in late April. I wouldn't have gotten here if… In French class at middle school, we hadn't read Le Médecin malgré lui [ The Doctor in Spite of Himself ] by Molière, and that first line spoken by Sganarelle at the beginning of the play, which I delivered in an extremely theatrical manner, banging on the table: "No! I tell you that I'll do nothing of the kind, and that it is for me to speak, and to be master." I was in sixth grade, I didn't know anything about theater, and it was the first time I had ever recited a line from the repertoire. But I understood you had to "give it some tone," and the teacher had asked me to perform it with anger. I did it, and I made my classmates laugh. Suddenly, it wasn't the same everyday laughter I heard that was hard to bear on the playground, in the cafeteria, or on the bus. This laughter was different, and it continued throughout my reading. That evening, when I got home to my parents, I wanted to do theater. I felt that it was a space where, even though you were exposed, you were also protected. What images do you keep from your childhood in the small village of La Rue-Saint-Pierre, in Normandy?
Russia Today
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Russia Today
Seven sentenced for harassing LGBTQ Olympic organizer
Seven people have been sentenced in France for the cyberbullying of Thomas Jolly – the artistic director of the LGBTQ-themed opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Last year's games opened with a controversial spectacle that included what was perceived as a recreation of Leonardo DaVinci's 'Last Supper' featuring drag queens, homosexuals, transsexuals and a pro-obesity activist in the role of Christ. The show was condemned by Christians across the world, as well as Muslims, many of whom expressed their frustration on social media. Several days after the event, the production company behind the ceremony, Paname 2024, complained that its employees were getting harassed online and had received death threats. Jolly, who has insisted that the scene was not inspired by the 'Last Supper', also filed a complaint claiming was the target of 'homophobic and anti-semitic threats and insults.' In October, French authorities arrested seven people, including one woman, who were accused of writing hateful messages targeting Jolly that included posts like 'degenerate Jew,' 'slut,' 'God will not forget you' and 'you will pay for having disrespected our Lord Jesus Christ.' On Monday, the Paris Criminal Court found the seven individuals guilty of 'repeated death threats, cyberbullying and aggravated insults based on sexual orientation or real or supposed religious affiliation' against Jolly. The court imposed suspended fines of €2,000 to €3,000 ($2,260-$3,395) and suspended prison sentences of two to four months and ordered the defendants to pay one euro in damages to the artistic director. The seven defendants, aged between 22 and 79, will also have to complete a five-day citizenship course, the court ruled. The X accounts of two of the accused individuals will also be suspended for six months. Their posts came amid a wave of backlash to the Olympic opening ceremony from the Christian world, with the Bishops' Conference of France claiming that it 'mocked and ridiculed' the faith. The Vatican also said it was 'saddened' by the ceremony and that it offended many Christians and believers of other religions. The Russian Orthodox Church stated at the time that the performance represented a 'counterculture of godlessness' that has emerged in the center of Europe. The head of the church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, also said it was evidence of the 'de-cultivation' of moral values and the 'downward trajectory of the spiritual-cultural component of Western civilization.' The outcry over the event ultimately forced the International Olympic Committee to apologize and delete the video of the opening ceremony from online streaming platforms.
Local France
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
French court backs Olympics choreographer in cyberbullying case
The seven accused, of whom only one was present in court, were found guilty of sending hate messages, and even a death threat, to Thomas Jolly, 43, over a controversial scene in the ceremony. Jolly filed a legal complaint over the cyberbullying shortly after the open-air spectacular on the Seine that drew mostly praise. However, some Christians and far-right groups took offence at one of its scenes incorporating LGBTQ performers that they claimed mocked Christian values. In his complaint Jolly, who is openly gay, said he was being targeted "by threatening and insulting messages" that he said criticised his sexual orientation and "wrongly assumed Israeli origins", according to prosecutors. Ceremony organisers said they were portraying feasting Olympian gods in a nod to classical paintings, with a blue-painted French pop star and actor, Philippe Katerine, playing Dionysus, the father of Sequana, the goddess of the River Seine. But some interpreted it as a disrespectful parody of the Last Supper, the final meal between Jesus and his apostles. US President Donald Trump called the ceremony "a disgrace", but Jolly received the full support of French President Emmanuel Macron who said he was "outraged" by the cyberbullying, adding that "the French were very proud of this ceremony". Advertisement The fines in Monday's sentencing went up to €3,000 and the suspended sentences up to four months. All seven of those found guilty were also ordered to pay a symbolic euro to Jolly, and undergo a five-day civic training programme. Investigators have also been looking into similar complaints from Barbara Butch, a French DJ and lesbian activist who starred in the controversial scene. Her lawyer said she had been "threatened with death, torture and rape". Five people are to stand trial in that case in September, prosecutors told AFP in March. READ MORE: What jurisdiction do French courts have over people outside France?
France 24
05-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
French court backs Olympics choreographer in cyberbullying case
The seven accused, of whom only one was present in court, were found guilty of sending hate messages, and even a death threat, to Thomas Jolly, 43, over a controversial scene in the ceremony. Jolly filed a legal complaint over the cyberbullying shortly after the open-air spectacular on the Seine that drew mostly praise. However, some Christians and far-right groups took offence at one of its scenes incorporating LGBTQ performers that they claimed mocked Christian values. In his complaint Jolly, who is openly gay, said he was being targeted "by threatening and insulting messages" that he said criticised his sexual orientation and "wrongly assumed Israeli origins", according to prosecutors. Ceremony organisers said they were portraying feasting Olympian gods in a nod to classical paintings, with a blue-painted French pop star and actor, Philippe Katerine, playing Dionysus, the father of Sequana, the goddess of the River Seine. But some interpreted it as a disrespectful parody of the Last Supper, the final meal between Jesus and his apostles. US President Donald Trump called the ceremony "a disgrace", but Jolly received the full support of French President Emmanuel Macron who said he was "outraged" by the cyberbullying, adding that "the French were very proud of this ceremony". The fines in Monday's sentencing went up to 3,000 euros ($3,400) and the suspended sentences up to four months. All seven of those found guilty were also ordered to pay a symbolic euro to Jolly, and undergo a five-day civic training programme. Investigators have also been looking into similar complaints from Barbara Butch, a French DJ and lesbian activist who starred in the controversial scene. Her lawyer said she had been "threatened with death, torture and rape".
