Editing Dakar Rally (section)

==Criticism==
When the race was held in Africa, it was subject to criticism from several sources, generally focusing on the race's impact on the inhabitants of the African countries through which it passed. Some African residents along the race's course in previous years have said they saw limited benefits from the race; that race participants spent little money on the goods and services local residents can offer. The racers produced substantial amounts of dust along the course, and were blamed for hitting and killing livestock, in addition to occasionally injuring or killing people.<ref>{{cite news |last=Doggett |first=Gina |date=2004-01-18 |title=Paris-Dakar rally brings 'little but dust', Senegalese villagers say |publisher=Agence France-Presse}}</ref>

After the 1988 race, when three Africans were killed in collisions with vehicles involved in the race, [[Panafrican News Agency|PANA]], a Dakar-based [[news agency]], wrote that the deaths were "insignificant for the [race's] organisers". The [[Vatican City]] newspaper ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'' called the race a "vulgar display of power and wealth in places where men continue to die from hunger and thirst."<ref>{{cite news |last=Brooke |first=James |date=1988-03-13 |title=Dangerous Paris-Dakar race is endangered |newspaper=The New York Times |page=8}}</ref> During a 2002 protest at the race's start in [[Arras, France|Arras]], France, a [[The Greens (France)|Green Party]] of France statement described the race as "[[colonialism]] that needs to be eradicated".<ref>{{cite news |last=Paterne |first=Elodie |date=2001-12-28 |title=Protests overshadow start of Paris-Dakar race |publisher=[[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref>

The rally was criticised before 2000 for crossing through the [[List of territorial disputes|disputed territory]] of [[Western Sahara]], which has been occupied by [[Morocco]] since 1975, without the approval of the [[Polisario Front]] independence movement, which considers itself the representative of the indigenous [[Sahrawi people]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Dakar rally gathers Saharan war clouds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jan/08/rorycarroll |work=The Guardian |date=8 January 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Paris-Dakar rally defies war threats in Sahara |url=https://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/Paris-Dakar-rally-defies-war-threats-in-Sahara-20010107 |work=News24 |date=8 January 2001 |access-date=1 January 2020 |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101094933/https://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/Paris-Dakar-rally-defies-war-threats-in-Sahara-20010107 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After the race officials gained formal permission from the Polisario from 2000 onwards this ceased to be an issue.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dakar rally crosses Western Sahara with Polisario blessing |url=http://www.afrol.com/articles/15144 |work=afrol News }}</ref>

The environmental impact of the race has been another area of criticism. This criticism of the race is the topic of the song "''500 connards sur la ligne de départ''" ("500 Arseholes at the Starting Line"), on the 1991 album ''[[Marchand de cailloux]]'' by French singer [[Renaud]]. In 2014, the Dakar rally was criticized for damage done to archaeological sites in Chile.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/16/chile-dakar-rally-protests-archaeologists-indigenous-groups-environmentalists|title=Chile's Dakar Rally criticised by greens, archaeologists and indigenous groups|first=Jonathan|last=Watts|date=16 January 2014|website=the Guardian}}</ref>

The move to [[Saudi Arabia]] for the 2020 Dakar Rally was under heavy criticism because of the situation of [[human rights in Saudi Arabia]] and the position of women in that country.<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudi Arabia: Repressive Site for Dakar Rally |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/01/03/saudi-arabia-repressive-site-dakar-rally |work=Human Rights Watch |date=3 January 2020}}</ref>

Despite the criticism from human rights organizations against the choice of host country for the 2020 season, the [[2021 Dakar Rally|Dakar Rally]] was organized in Saudi Arabia for another consecutive year. While it was being denounced as an attempt of [[sportswashing]] by Saudi Arabia, the organizers defended the decision.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210102-dakar-rally-set-for-second-saudi-outing-despite-sportswashing-row|title=Dakar Rally set for second Saudi outing despite 'sportswashing' row|access-date=2 January 2020|website=France 24}}</ref>