Paris 2024 scandal: Olympians demand replacement of poor-quality medals Another disgrace for Macron’s France

The 2024 Paris Olympics ended less than six months ago, but some of the medals handed out had an even shorter shelf life.

The Paris Mint (Monnaie de Paris) will be replacing a number of medals they gave out to Olympians and Paralympians at the Summer Olympics due to complaints of deterioration and severe tarnishing, Caliber.Az reports, citing the American website America Online (AOL).

According to an investigative report from French news website La Lettre, around 100 complaints have come in from Olympians who have seen their medals noticeably degrade. The earliest complaints began in August, less than one month after the Paris Olympics ended.

American Nyjah Huston, who won bronze in men's street skateboarding in Paris, was one of the first Olympians to call out the quality of his medal. In August he posted an Instagram Story with multiple photos of his bronze medal after a weekend of wearing it and sharing it with friends. The back of the medal was tarnished, and front surface of the medal had started to chip away."Medal looking like it went to war and back," Huston wrote.

The medals were designed by Parisian jewelry house Chaumet, and each contains a small piece of the actual Eiffel Tower embedded within. The French mint will work with the 2024 Olympics Organizing Committee to assess each complaint and organize an identical replacement.

Meanwhile, the French newspaper 20 Minutes reports that disputes over the quality of the medals heated up in late December after posts from French swimmers Clément Seki and Yoann Ndoye-Bruar. The former shared a photo of his medal in his Instagram stories with peeling coating, captioning it: "Crocodile skin."

The latter posted a photo of his medal in a similar state, with scratches on the central part. He humorously added the caption: "Paris-1924" on the social media platform X.

According to Digital Daily, the Paris Mint suffered a serious blow at certain management levels. CEO Marc Schwartz hastily dismissed three senior production managers: industrial director Jacques Fréhelhem, head of production Eric Matte, responsible for the Olympic medals, and manager for quality, health and safety, and environmental affairs Hélène Yuton.

Initially, the issue stemmed from poor-quality lacquer, which the Monnaie de Paris had known about for at least 15 months, well before the start of the Olympic Games. The chromic acid trioxide used in the production of the lacquer had been banned, leaving the mint in difficulty as it searched for a reliable replacement.

The Paris Mint is now working with a Lyon-based company specializing in industrial processes and surface treatment to resolve the issue. Over 100 medals have already been returned.

French newspaper La Dépêche du Midi reports that in recent weeks, athletes continue to express dissatisfaction with the poor quality of the medals.

The deterioration of the medals was striking. "Unfortunately, it started in the first week," said Swiss rower Andrin Gühlich, echoing the words of his rowing teammate Roman Röösli and volleyball player Tanja Hüberli.

They confirmed they had already used the replacement system set up by the IOC, which allows athletes to request new medals from the manufacturer. "I still haven't decided if I want to return the medal that was put around my neck right after the competition," said Roman Röösli.