In Marseille, the Clean my Calanques association refuses to carry the Olympic flame for ecological reasons

Marseille’s environmental protection association Clean my Calanques announced on Monday 29 April that it had refused to carry the Olympic flame due to Coca-Cola’s participation as an official sponsor. “We are not going to carry a flame paid for by those who make us sink” to collect waste, said Eric Akopian, founder of the association, as the Olympic flame is due to arrive in Marseille on May 8 and begin its journey through France. Boxes are part of the waste that the association “get the most” by cleaning the coastline.

Founded in 2017, Clean my Calanques organizes cleaning operations on the Mediterranean coast in Marseille and in the Calanques National Park, as well as environmental awareness raising operations. In a video posted on social networks, Clean my Calanques had justified his choice by saying: “We are not perfect”and this is not “nothing against sports or against athletes” but “everything that was around the Olympics, the sponsors (…) we didn’t really feel we agreed with it”.

It is in particular the fact that the American company Coca-Cola is the official sponsor of the torch relay that motivated the decision of this environmental association, which has 320 members. This is one of the companies “the most polluting in the world”one of them “who produces the most plastic”said Mr. Akopian.

Treats “all over the coast”

According to him, the organization of the Games is generally problematic both socially and environmentally. He particularly cites the production of “treats” : these plastic packaging, stickers and other key rings ” look cute[ns] put like that, but except that we know we’ll find them all over the coast.he regretted.

The Clean my Calanques association was the winner of Impact 2024, a call for projects initiated by the Paris 2024 Endowment Fund and in this context raised awareness among young people about ecology. “It was one thing to do a project in collaboration with them to raise awareness among young people, another thing is to carry the flame and appear as an ambassador for an event that can be better, must be better”detailed Céline Albinet, director of Clean my Calanques.