PARIS – Greetings from Paris, as we are now in the second week of an Olympiad that has been a sterling success thus far.
Upon our arrival two weeks ago, it was impossible to miss the discontent felt by many Parisians. Their beloved city was being overrun with traffic snarls, hordes of international sports fans, broken Olympic development promises, and QR codes for residents to go to and from their homes. Perhaps you saw my interview with a guy on the Paris Metro who told me Paris had become a “prison.” But there’s magic in that Olympic flame.
Now, to be sure, many of those aggrieved Parisians have left town. The French typically reserve August for vacations, and this year, they tagged on some of July, as well, to get away from the whole unruly thing.
But the French who remain, and there are many of them, are now roaring their approval. I hear it nightly from our TV tower position near the Eiffel Tower. Paris is a grand party, and the home team is celebrating historic success. Heading into week two, they had already won more medals than they have in any post-war Olympiad.
Before the games, French President Emmanuel Macron voiced hope that France could place fifth in the overall medal count. Today, they sit in third and staying there behind the U.S. and China seems a real possiblity. They came into the Olympics fully expecting greatness from Leon Marchand, the dominating swimmer. But winning has been contagious and has arrived in so many unexpected places. (When the French men won the gold in Rugby Sevens, the Stade de France shook.) And the television ratings suggest it’s not just the French who are dialed in -- these are the Olympics you remember, the must-see-TV event that went missing during the COVID years.
That’s not to say there haven’t been glitches along the way. The horrendous downpour the night of the Opening Ceremony did its best to ruin the novel approach of moving the ceremony out of a stadium and to the people. The River Seine hasn’t been anything close to pristine. (On Sunday, Belgium pulled its team from the mixed relay triathlon after one of its athletes who swam in the river became ill.) The marathon swim events are set for late this week, and if it isn’t the pollution, there are wild currents for swimmers to battle. And, as anyone who spends time on TikTok can tell you, many athletes have complained about the quality of life in the Olympic Village.
But the French seem to be brushing those issues aside with their salad fork as they dig into the chateaubriand of winning. Olympic soccer has never been able to break the stranglehold of FIFA and the World Cup. In fact, only three of the world’s top 100 footballers are here. But after their comeback win in the semifinals against Egypt, France will take on rival Spain for the gold on Friday at Parc des Princes.
Suppose the French fans will be up for that?