French president lauds Beijing Paralympics
19/9/2008 17:05
French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday hosted the French Paralympic
delegation and disabled Chinese athlete Jin Jing at the Elysee Place and said
the Beijing Paralympic Games achieved "a huge success."
The 12-day sports
event, which ended Wednesday, is a success for the international Paralympic
movement, Sarkozy told the French Paralympians and Jin, the wheelchair fencer
and Olympic torchbearer known for protecting the torch from protestors in the
Paris leg of the relay.
He said that as more than 4,000 athletes from nearly
150 countries or regions competed in the Games, making the Beijing Paralympics
one of the most important sports events in the world.
The Beijing Paralympics
also drew unprecedented media coverage, with about 4,000 journalists involved in
reporting the event, the president said, adding that in comparison, about 2,50
the number of reports covered the 2004 Athens Paralympics.
Sarkozy extended
special welcome to Jin, saying the athlete showed "extraordinary courage" when
facing rough treatment during torch relay in Paris.
"You have made your
country proud, you have upheld the values of sports. France welcomes you today
with deep friendship and strong emotions," he told Jin.
Xinhua
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