PARIS (AP) — On the eve of the , IOC president Thomas Bach touted the games Monday as a uniting force in a world of divisive and “deeply disturbing” trends. “We are witnessing a new world order in the making,” Bach told an audience that included French president Emmanuel Macron, organizers of the Paris Games that open Friday and officials from Olympic sports federations. The IOC leader highlighted “narrow self-interests trumping the rule of law” among threats to the multilateralism that has shaped global affairs for almost 80 years.
“Historic disruptions are upending the system of international relations that has been in place since the second World War,” Bach said. “The trends are unfortunately clear: decoupling of economies, beggar-thy-neighbor, narrow self-interests trumping the rule of law, ‘Global South’ vs. ‘Global North.
’” The Olympics is part of a global and multilateral world that Bach suggested “is on the back foot." “In this new world order, ‘cooperation’ or ‘compromise’ are sadly considered disparaging terms,” he said. “In this world of division, the athletes personify our shared hope for a better future.
The athletes are showing us how to live peacefully together under one roof in the Olympic Village.” Earlier Monday, Bach met with athletes from the Israeli and Palestinian teams in the Saint-Denis neighborhood north of central Paris. “In these dark times, our Olympic values matter more than ever,” Bach said in h.