MARSEILLE, April 30, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A French environmental charity said it
had turned down the chance to take part in the torch relay ahead of the Paris
Olympics over the role of Coca-Cola as a major sponsor.

"Clean My Calanques", an NGO in Marseille which specialises in beach-
cleaning, received funding from the 2024 Paris Olympics organising committee
for its work educating school children.

But it announced on Monday that it would not take part in the torch relay
which will begin in Marseille on May 8, thanks in part to financing from
premium Olympics sponsor Coca-Cola.

"We are not going to carry a flame which is paid for by the same people who
make us bend over," the founder of Clean My Calanques, Eric Akopian, told
AFP.

Set up in 2017, the organisation's volunteers clean beaches around Marseille
and in the nearby national Calanques park, whose narrow coves and azure
waters make it a popular spot for tourists and locals.

Akopian said Coca-Cola was one of the "most polluting (companies) in the
world", with its bottles and cans some of the products found most frequently
during the charity's beach-combing operations.

In a video message posted on Instagram, he said the organisation had decided
it was "not at ease" with the commercial aspects of the Olympics, although he
stressed they had "nothing against sports, or the athletes".

Akopian noted the mass production of so-called "goodies" linked to the Games
such as stickers, key rings, pens or mascots.

"They can seem cute, but we know that we're going to find them on the
coastline," he told AFP.

French authorities say up to 150,000 people are set to gather in Marseille
for the start of the torch relay, which will see the Olympic flame carried
through mainland France and the country's overseas territories in the
Caribbean and Indian Ocean.

The Olympics are set to start on July 26 and run until August 11, followed by
the Paralympics from August 28-September 8.

Paris 2024 organisers have worked with Coca-Cola to reduce plastic waste from
its drinks packaging.

The group has agreed to install 700 newly designed drink fountains at Olympic
venues, meaning that around 50 percent of soft drinks will be served without
a plastic bottle, according to the organising committee.