Paris, Other French Cities Will Not Broadcast World Cup in Public Areas
2022-10-07
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1Paris becomes the latest French city that will not broadcast World Cup games in public areas.
2An official says the city is concerned over rights violations of migrant workers and the environmental impact of the games in Qatar.
3Qatar is a small Arab nation in the Persian Gulf.
4Thousands of migrant workers, mostly from South Asia, have helped build stadiums, train lines, roads and hotels to prepare for the World Cup.
5Human rights groups say these migrants have been mistreated and that some have died because of the working conditions.
6Qatar strongly disagrees and says it has improved the working conditions.
7The World Cup takes place every four years during the Northern Hemisphere summer.
8Because of the intense summer heat in Qatar, the World Cup will be held from November 20 to December 19 this year.
9Pierre Rabadan is a deputy mayor of Paris overseeing sports.
10He told France Bleu Paris radio that "air-conditioned stadiums" and the "conditions in which these facilities have been built are to be questioned."
11Paris Saint-Germain, the city's soccer team, is owned by Qatar Sports Investments.
12But Rabadan added that it "doesn't prevent us to say when we disagree."
13A growing number of French cities have also refused to broadcast the games in public areas to protest Qatar's human rights record.
14The mayor of Strasbourg, a city in northeastern France, said that accusations of human rights abuses and poor treatment of migrant workers were the reason for canceling public broadcasts of the World Cup.
15She said in a statement: "...we cannot turn a blind eye when human rights are violated."
16Environmentalists across France have also supported canceling outdoor public broadcasts.
17They say the viewings would use energy that the country has been saving for winter.
18In the southwestern city of Bordeaux, officials worry about the energy cost of outdoor public broadcasts in the winter cold.
19The French government wants to reduce the country's energy use by 10 percent to avoid the risk of cuts this winter.
20"We are trying hard to save energy," Bordeaux mayor Pierre Hurmic told the Associated Press.
21Arnaud Deslandes, a deputy mayor of Lille, said that by canceling public viewing of games, the city wanted to send a message to FIFA about the damage of the Qatar games to the environment.
22FIFA is the world governing body for soccer.
23"We want to show FIFA that money is not everything," Deslandes said.
24I'm Andrew Smith.
1Paris becomes the latest French city that will not broadcast World Cup games in public areas. An official says the city is concerned over rights violations of migrant workers and the environmental impact of the games in Qatar. 2Qatar is a small Arab nation in the Persian Gulf. Thousands of migrant workers, mostly from South Asia, have helped build stadiums, train lines, roads and hotels to prepare for the World Cup. 3Human rights groups say these migrants have been mistreated and that some have died because of the working conditions. Qatar strongly disagrees and says it has improved the working conditions. 4The World Cup takes place every four years during the Northern Hemisphere summer. Because of the intense summer heat in Qatar, the World Cup will be held from November 20 to December 19 this year. 5Pierre Rabadan is a deputy mayor of Paris overseeing sports. He told France Bleu Paris radio that "air-conditioned stadiums" and the "conditions in which these facilities have been built are to be questioned." 6Paris Saint-Germain, the city's soccer team, is owned by Qatar Sports Investments. But Rabadan added that it "doesn't prevent us to say when we disagree." 7Paris joins other French cities 8A growing number of French cities have also refused to broadcast the games in public areas to protest Qatar's human rights record. 9The mayor of Strasbourg, a city in northeastern France, said that accusations of human rights abuses and poor treatment of migrant workers were the reason for canceling public broadcasts of the World Cup. She said in a statement: "...we cannot turn a blind eye when human rights are violated." 10Environmentalists across France have also supported canceling outdoor public broadcasts. They say the viewings would use energy that the country has been saving for winter. 11In the southwestern city of Bordeaux, officials worry about the energy cost of outdoor public broadcasts in the winter cold. The French government wants to reduce the country's energy use by 10 percent to avoid the risk of cuts this winter. 12"We are trying hard to save energy," Bordeaux mayor Pierre Hurmic told the Associated Press. 13Arnaud Deslandes, a deputy mayor of Lille, said that by canceling public viewing of games, the city wanted to send a message to FIFA about the damage of the Qatar games to the environment. FIFA is the world governing body for soccer. 14"We want to show FIFA that money is not everything," Deslandes said. 15I'm Andrew Smith. 16Jade Le Deley and Barbara Surk wrote this story for the Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17_____________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19impact -n. the effect, often powerful, that one thing has on another 20stadium -n. a large arena holding thousands of spectators, usually used for sporting events and concerts 21air-conditioned -adj. having a system to circulate air cooler than the outside temperature 22facilities -n. buildings, equipment, or other services that are provided for a particular purpose 23______________________________________________________________________ 24We want to hear from you. 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.