China-made Paris Olympics mascots fuel criticism in France

PARIS — The mascots for the 2024 Paris Olympics are a symbol of the French Republic. At a time when European Union leaders express increasing concern about economic dependency on the world’s second-largest economy, the manufacturing of the stuffed toys shaped like a Phrygian cap is fueling criticism. The manufacturing of the mascots in China was due to a “structural problem,” French government spokesman Olivier Véran said on Thursday. “The fact is that, today, we do not know how to do it.” Véran added the government was trying hard to try and relocate French businesses that are producing in China to make sure “we will, tomorrow, be able to produce what we no longer know how to produce today.“ Véran spoke after Christophe Béchu, the minister of ecological transition, admitted this week that manufacturing the mascots in China was a problem and hoped that France could find a better solution amid environmental concerns. Organizers said when they unveiled the mascots that they didn’t want to choose an animal or other creature, but instead wanted something that represented an “ideal.” The Phrygian cap is an updated version of a conical hat worn in antiquity in places such as Persia, the Balkans, Thrace, Dacia and Phrygia, a place in modern day Turkey where the name originates.