2023-07-28 12:38:27
A spectacular ceremony in the huge Martyrs stadium in Kinshasa is to kick off the 9th Games of La Francophonie on Friday evening, which the Congolese want to see as a message of hope in an ocean of problems.
Eighty thousand spectators are expected to see the 3,000 young athletes and artists, from around thirty countries, involved in the competitions and competitions that take place over 10 days in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the largest French-speaking city in the world with approximately 15 million inhabitants.
From mid-morning, queues formed around the stadium, where the security service will have to channel the crowd to avoid jostling.
In addition to the parade of delegations and their flag bearers, there is a “sound and light show (free) which will present the Congo that is changing”, said government spokesman Patrick Muyaya at the start of the week.
Awarded in 2019 to the DRC, these games should have taken place in 2021, four years after those of Abidjan. But they were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, then again in 2022 because the necessary equipment was not ready.
Because to accommodate the athletes, the country, rich in minerals but poor in standard of living and infrastructure, had to spend tens of millions of dollars to rehabilitate or build new facilities.
These expenditures were added to the war effort against armed groups and rebellions in the east of the country, in particular against the “M23” which, supported by Rwanda, occupies part of the province of North Kivu.
The Rwandan-Congolese crisis engendered by this conflict was also invited to the games in Kinshasa, with a controversy surrounding the presence at the opening ceremony of the Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), Louise Mushikiwabo, former Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs.
On Monday, the Congolese government had announced her presence. But her spokesperson indicated the next day that she would not come because she had not been invited. She is replaced in Kinshasa by the administrator of the OIF, Quebecer Caroline St-Hilaire.
Security fears
In addition to the expenses incurred for the reinforcement of its army, the Congolese State must also ensure this year the financing of the elections scheduled for December, in a tense climate and weighed down by the assassination of an opponent, on July 13, in Kinshasa. .
The government presents the cost of the games as an investment for the future of the country and its youth, who will be able to take advantage of brand new gymnasiums or rehabilitated rooms on the campus of the University of Kinshasa.
Same thing for the ambulances which will then go to health structures, for the equipment of the national television or for the training which the police have benefited from for the management of crowds.
Fears for the safety of the delegations have led some nations, such as Quebec, to reduce their participation or altogether give up coming to Kinshasa. Canada, for its part, sent a small delegation of athletes and artists.
The organizers reacted very badly to these decisions, saying that all the necessary measures were taken. Some 4,500 police officers and elements of the Republican Guard will be deployed and a private company is responsible for the security of the playgrounds.
Citizen movement activists had planned to demonstrate Friday morning against the holding of the games, against the Francophonie, France and Rwanda, but a large police force, with weapons and riot vehicles, dissuaded them, noted a journalist from the AFP.
Until August 6, the Games of La Francophonie will give rise to nine sports competitions and eleven cultural competitions.
The sports are men’s football (under 20), women’s basketball (18-25), athletics and para-athletics, road cycling, free and African wrestling, judo and table tennis . The cultural program includes painting, sculpture and photography, song, dance, digital creation, literature, storytelling, ball juggling, giant puppets and hip-hop.
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