The French government made it clear on Friday, through its foreign minister, that the option of trying to stop the Dakar 2022 is still on the table and that, in fact, it had already proposed it to the organizers (ASO) as soon as it came to knowledge of the strange explosion of an assistance vehicle of the Sodicars team, which took place on December 30 in Jeddah.
The French anti-terrorism prosecutor announced the opening of its investigations on January 4, while the Saudi authorities also claim that they have an ongoing investigation into the whole affair. The blast injured both legs of the French driver, Philippe Boutron, who was transferred to France and placed in a medically induced coma before being awakened in the last 48 hours.
David Castera, director of the Dakar, made it clear to France TV today that there are no plans to stop the race at the moment and that safety has been strengthened considerably to prevent any kind of accident from happening in the second week.
“Not at this stage, because the investigation is still ongoing. And as the minister rightly said, the question is what happened on the 30th. This is the question we would like to be able to answer today for Philippe and his family. . We have put in place many additional security measures in coordination with the Saudi authorities. You can see it at the bivouac, around the bivouac, at the start and finish of each stage. All to maintain an optimal level of security, “said Castera.
“We are asking ourselves many questions, but until we have the answers, we will not draw any conclusions. For the moment, we will finish this race and then we will see.”
Castera then clarified that the management of ASO was very impressed by what happened, but that he hopes that the sporting aspects can prevail.
“I am very sad. I spoke to Philippe two days ago. The first thing I have to say is that he is an incredible guy, I was struck talking to him. I feel a lot of sadness. We organize a sporting event whose purpose is to have fun, to live the passion and in no case be victims of attacks, if this hypothesis were confirmed. I am deeply saddened and my thoughts go to Philippe at all times. We will try to fight so that sport takes precedence over everything else “, he concluded.
Gallery: the best photos of the Dakar 2022
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