It might be time to think existentially. The 2024 Paris Olympics, which concluded on Sunday evening with a lavish closing ceremony, were like a chronicle of the stress that was announced. But 16 medal-winning summer days and summer nights for French athletes brought a new vision of success, both at home and abroad.
Paris and its monumental treasures are the stars, local organizers assured in the run-up to the official start of the Games on July 26, while grappling with the complaints.
Complaints about costs of €4.4 billion, restricted access and road closures near the Seine reflected inflexibility and a lack of dynamism in parts of a country that had distinguished itself in the world for its carefreeness and openness to the unknown.
It was an extraordinary joy to step out of the Olympic role.
Without these melancholy souls, the city was flooded with radiant, happy people who were here for Paris – one of the most beautiful places in the world – and for the Olympic Games. A double stroke of luck.
The venues in the city – part of the organizers’ sustainability initiative – and the more remote locations such as Colombes to the west – developed into places of outstanding sporting action and party centers.
Dutch fans celebrating the men’s hockey team’s gold medal at the Yves du Manoir stadium flocked to a few corner shops and bars near the station to dance and drink the night away. There was no orange juice.
A Mexican couple celebrated their engagement with smiles in the sunshine at the ladies’ archery competition on the Esplanade des Invalides.
The overwhelming reaction to the doomsayers? The international equivalent of a Gallic shrug. If the Parisians and the French don’t understand this, they need help.
And if not, we still have Paris.
Read more on RFI English
Read also:
Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Five things we learned on Day 15 – Sweet 16
Hollywood ending for the Olympic Games in Paris, LA takes the spotlight
Food for thought and drinks for the Olympic show on the way from Paris to Los Angeles
