To elaborate a bit: what I mean is, it is easier to build an acceptably performant system in Python than in C++.

Yes, an arbitrary algorithm will probably perform significantly faster in C++.

But that probably won't matter in a real-world system built from multiple integrated components, when the performance is more likely to be determined by the abstractions chosen and the system architecture in use. And IMO Python and its surrounding ecosystem makes it easier to make good choices in those areas.