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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.
After the 1988 race, when three Africans were killed in collisions with vehicles involved in the race, PANA, a Dakar-based news agency, wrote that the deaths were "insignificant for the 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." During a 2002 protest at the race's start in Arras, France, a Green Party of France statement described the race as "colonialism that needs to be eradicated".
The rally was criticised before 2000 for crossing through the disputed territory of Western Sahara, without the approval of the Polisario Front, which considers itself the representative of the Sahrawi people. After the race officials gained formal permission from the Polisario from 2000 onwards this ceased to be an issue.
The environmental impact of the race has been another area of criticism. This criticism of the race is notably the topic of the song "500 connards sur la ligne de départ" ("500 Assholes at the Starting Line"), on the album Marchand de cailloux by French singer Renaud. According to recent figures provided by the Dakar Rally, the carbon emissions of the two week race are approximately equivalent to a Formula One race.
Rally cars may destroy or stunt the growth of plants which fixate the soil, particularly in sandy regions. Due to the eroding action of the vehicles on the predetermined track (which can destroy plants and loosens the soil), it may promote desertification in the ribbon of land they race on.
Read more about this topic: Dakar Rally
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