2022 World Cup: French cities to protest Qatar human rights record, environmental impact with big screen bans

Several French cities will boycott the World Cup in Qatar by not showing matches on big screens or hold fan zones in protest of its human rights record and environmental impact.

With the 2022 World Cup in Qatar just under 50 days away, protests surrounding the host nation’s human rights record and environmental impact continues to mount with several French cities recently announcing that they will not broadcast the games on large screens in public or organize fan zones.

Deputy mayor of Paris in charge of sports, Pierre Rabadan, told reporters that the French capital will not participate in the tradition of creating outdoor viewing screens and gathering sites because of "the conditions of the organization of this World Cup, both on the environmental and social level."

Paris joins several other major French cities, including Lille, Strasbourg and Bordeaux, who are all protesting the same issues. 

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"It’s impossible for us to ignore the many warnings of abuse and exploitation of migrant workers by non-governmental organizations," Jeanne Barseghian, the mayor of Strasbourg, said in a statement. "We cannot condone these abuses, we cannot turn a blind eye when human rights are violated."

The kit provider for the Danish national soccer team recently announced on social media that while it will not be boycotting the World Cup, it plans to make a statement with "toned-down" jerseys. 

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"We don’t wish to be visible during a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives," Hummel, a Danish sportswear brand, said in an Instagram post. "We support the Danish national team all the way, but that isn’t the same as supporting Qatar as a host nation. We believe that sport should bring people together. And when it doesn’t, we want to make a statement."

Qatar has denied allegations of human right abuses of its 30,000 workers who built the World Cup infrastructure. The government also said that it is mindful of environmental concerns and has committed to offsetting some of the carbon emissions from the World Cup events through creating new green spaces irrigated with recycled water and building alternative energy projects.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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