Macron praises audacity of opening ceremony, defends artistic freedom

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday offered his support to the artists behind the 2024 Olympic opening ceremony who had received death threats and praised their "audacity", adding that the show had made France proud.

French authorities have opened an investigation into death threats targeting the artistic director of the ceremony Thomas Jolly, after he was harassed online over a tableau that appeared to parody Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper".

"I am scandalised and sad about what he's been through," Macron told reporters in Paris, after returning from his summer retreat on the French Riviera to cheer French Olympic champions.

"The French and the whole world were very proud of this opening ceremony, it made us very proud," Macron said. "His audacity did a lot of good to a lot of people."

The scene, which sparked fury among the Catholic Church, far right politicians in France and the religious right in the United States, featured drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine Dionysus.

Paris 2024 organisers said they were sorry and had had no intention to show disrespect towards any religious group. Jolly also said that religious subversion had not been his intention and that the scene was supposed to depict a pagan feast linked to the gods of Olympus.

Macron said people were allowed to criticise and have an opinion but that death threats had no place in a democracy and that the ceremony showed that France respected artistic freedom.

"It showed France's audacity, and it all happened with the suitable artistic freedom," Macron said. "Nothing justifies threats to an artist."

Asked whether the Olympic cauldron, which has become a hugely popular attraction in the Tuileries gardens, could become a permanent feature of the Paris skyline, Macron said he was open to the idea but that it had to be discussed with other parties.

"It's one thing we're thinking about. Everything we can do to keep the city more beautiful over the long term is something we need to think about," Macron said.

"We'll look into it in due time, with the relevant technical analyses and while keeping in mind that we need to preserve the historical views of Paris. But I think it's making everyone dream today," he added.