The Olympic flame was lit in Paris. Rail infrastructure was attacked in France. There was chlorine poisoning at a swimming pool in Warsaw. The excessive deficit procedure against Poland was launched. The Sejm dismissed two members of the committee on paedophilia. Here are five things to know on Saturday, July 27.
1. Opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris
The Olympic flame was lit in Paris. The honor of lighting it during the grand opening ceremony was given to athlete Marie-Jose Perec and judoka Teddy Riner, French Olympic champions. The setting for Friday's opening ceremony was different than anything we've seen before. The event did not take place in the main stadium, but on the Seine. Boats with athletes sailed along a six-kilometer stretch of the river. In this way, the parade and the artistic shows intertwined with it could be watched live by hundreds of thousands of people.
The Olympic flame was lit in ParisThe Olympic flame was lit in ParisGetty Images
2. “Acts of sabotage” in France
Hours before the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris, the French rail operator SNCF announced that it had fallen victim to “mass attack aimed at paralyzing the TGV network.” The Paris prosecutor's office announced that it had opened an investigation. The Minister of Transport France Patrice Vergriete said this afternoon that TGV train services were gradually starting to resume at Paris stations.
Investigation launched into arson attacks on TGV network facilities PAP/EPA/ANDY RAIN
3. Chlorine poisoning at a Warsaw swimming pool
At the Polonez OSiR Targówek swimming pool at 20 Łabiszyńska Street in Targówek, people using the pooladults and children were poisoned by chlorine. 23 people were injured – informed the Provincial Emergency Medical Service Station “Meditrans” in Warsaw. 60 people were evacuated. There are preliminary results of air and water sample tests.
Over people from the pool were taken to hospitals. Firefighters took water samples TVN24
4. The excessive deficit procedure against Poland has been launched
Member states in the Council of the European Union decided on Friday launching the excessive deficit procedure against Poland and six other Member States. The countries covered by the procedure will have four to seven years to implement corrective measures. The excessive deficit procedure is triggered when the public finance sector deficit in a given EU country exceeds 3 percent of GDP or when the public debt is higher than 60 percent of GDP.
5. The Sejm dismissed two members of the committee on pedophilia
The Sejm dismissed two members of the state commission for pedophilia: Barbara Chrobak and Hanna Elżanowska. The reason was the emerging information about mismanagement and mobbing. 414 MPs voted for the dismissal of Barbara Chrobak, four were against, and two abstained. 418 MPs voted for the dismissal of Hanna Elżanowska, two were against, and six abstained.
Barbara Chrobak and Hanna Elżanowska during the meeting of the Sejm's Justice Committee in the SejmPAP/Marcin Obara
Main image source: PAP/EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK