PARIS, (Reuters) – The French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) has denounced racist graffiti that was found on Black athletes’ posters in front of the National Institute of Sport (INSEP) at the weekend.

One of the athletes on the posters is double Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner.

“The CNOSF firmly denounces the racist degradation of the portraits of the champions of the French team displayed at INSEP Paris,” the CNOSF said in a statement yesterday.

They embody the values of respect, tolerance and unity that are at the heart of the Olympic project that we all have at heart to promote and defend,” CNOSF president Denis Masseglia told the governing body’s general assembly.

I therefore want, on behalf of all of us, to express the full support and solidarity of the French Sports Movement and the Olympic family with our athletes and teams in France.