PARIS: France on Wednesday rejected allegations that President Francois Hollande was snubbing the Sochi Olympics, saying its sports minister would attend the event “as is common practice” for the Winter Games.

In a radio interview Sunday, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said neither he nor Hollande had any plans to go the opening ceremony, sparking speculation of a boycott over Russia’s rights record. But on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron would attend the Feb. 7 to 23 event.

“The quality of the ties between French authorities and their Russian counterparts would not justify the absence of France in any way,” it said in a statement.

It noted that Hollande’s predecessors Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac had not attended the Winter Games in Nagano, Salt Lake City, Turin or Vancouver either. “Any controversy on the issue is therefore unfounded.”

Rights groups have criticized Russia for the way workers recruited to build the sporting venues in Sochi have been treated and for its anti-gay legislation.

And last week, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding tweeted on her official account that she would “certainly not go to Sochi as long as minorities are treated the way they are under the current Russian legislation.”

The French Foreign Ministry said the issue of human rights would “obviously” not be avoided at the Winter Games, but said the event “must above all be a major sporting celebration.”