Mid-day guest Podcast Podcast

"Sport-washing", Riyadh's strategy to "seduce, smooth the image of the kingdom"

After ten years in Latin America, the Dakar Rally definitely has more connection to Africa than by name. The historic race created in 1978 starts this Sunday from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. A 42nd edition with around 350 crews registered for the start and 9,000 kilometers between them and the finish, scheduled for January 17 in al-Qiddiya, not far from the capital Riyadh. The desert, the dunes as far as the eye can see, this is a little bit the essence of this race which was held on the African continent for 30 years, but this time, the host country is much pointed out by the defenders human rights.

Human Rights Watch, for example, states: " Fans, media and competing teams should not be blinded by the sports spectacle, through which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attempts to whitewash its image while imprisoning pacifist activists. Riyadh, which is increasingly establishing itself as an organizer of sports competitions.

Our mid-day guest is David Rigoulet-Roze, researcher attached to the French Institute for Strategic Analysis (IFAS), editor-in-chief of the journal Strategic Orienters and author of Geopolitics of Saudi Arabia, with Armand Colin.

► Read also: Saudi Arabia wants to become a great field of sport, and of influence

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