Bad news for Dakar? French minister considers canceling the event

There may be bad news for the 2022 Dakar Rally. The French minister is considering canceling the event after an explosion.

On December 30, a car belonging to the French team Sodicars Racing exploded outside the Donatello hotel in Jeddah. There were six occupants in the car, five of whom were unharmed. Driver Philippe Boutron suffered serious injuries to his leg. He was later transferred to France and put into a medically induced coma, from which he has since awakened. Since the incident, local authorities have stepped up security, but there are still concerns.

In an interview with BFM TV, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian talks about the cancellation of the Dakar Rally. The minister is asked if the explosion was possibly a terrorist attack. "It could be. We made it known very quickly and told the organisers and Saudi officials that we had to be very transparent about what had just happened because there were hypotheses that it could be a terrorist act."

Le Drain explains that there have been acts of terrorism before in Saudi Arabia against French interests. The organizers do not think the event should be suspended, but the French minister says everyone should be very careful. For now, the question remains whether the Dakar will be canceled.

On January 4, French authorities launched an investigation into the incident. ASO has also announced that both Saudi and French authorities are investigating what happened.