Paris Olympics Frenzy sees French athletes win record 45 medals

By welcoming the Summer Olympics to Paris for the first time in 100 years, organizers have set the bar high for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. In addition to beating the odds by staging the opening ceremony entirely outdoors along the Seine, despite the country being on high security alert and feuding over chaotic politics, the Paris Olympics have surpassed even the glitziest episode of “Emily in Paris.” with selfie-friendly competitions held at iconic Parisian landmarks.

While Parisians left the city en masse before the start of the Olympic Games to go on holiday and avoid disruptions caused by heightened security, a huge contingent of stars hit the City of Light after the opening ceremony hosted by Tom Cruise (who also a stunt on the closing night), Steven Spielberg and Ariana Grande and a selection of artists, including Lady Gaga and Celine Dion. Nicole Kidman showed up at Place de la Concorde for skateboarding, Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes went to Versailles for the equestrian competition, while Baz Luhrmann, Judd Apatow, Elizabeth Banks and Leslie Mann watched beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower.

Fencing at the Grand Palais was also a big hit, while cycling drew around 500,000 people along the streets of Paris on Saturday, from Montmartre’s ‘Amelie’ district to the Eiffel Tower. The indoor competitions have also been star-studded, especially at Bercy Stadium, where Simone Biles became the most decorated American gymnast with three golds and one silver.

French athletes bask in the cheerful atmosphere, while the shoulders of Parisians and the complaints of entrepreneurs have faded. With six days to go, Team France has already broken its historic record, with 44 medals, including 12 gold medals. The total is twice as many as the country netted in Tokyo and puts France in third place, behind the US and China. Breakout swimming champion Leon Marchand and megastar judoka Teddy Riner lead the contingent of French gold medals with four and two respectively. Medals aside, the one athlete to create the biggest viral moment of these Olympics is French-born, 21-year-old pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati, who knocked over the pole with his bump on Saturday and quickly went viral.

The unexpected madness of the Olympic Games was also reflected in busy fan zones, such as Club France in La Villette, where thousands of people gather every day to watch the games together on a giant screen and welcome every French athlete like a real rock star.

“It’s like a waking dream. We have come very far (…). I was convinced we would succeed, but this is beyond our expectations. It is wonderful to see the French together, happy and united. There is so much enthusiasm. We are giving a great image of France and our athletes can feel it,” Tony Estanguet, the gold medal-winning French slalom canoeist who chairs the organizing committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, said during an interview on Sunday evening on Pubcaster France. Televisions France 2 channel. Estanguet, who predicts the French team could win up to 60 medals, said more than 5 million people visited competition venues, while fan zones across France attracted more than 3 million visitors.

Locals’ enthusiasm for the Olympic Games has also been measured by record ratings on the French broadcaster, which attracted more than 24.4 million viewers, the largest ever audience for an event featuring the opening ceremony.

But even outside France, Estanguet says he has received positive feedback from “TV (execs) around the world telling (us) they are breaking records.”

These Paris Olympics have also introduced new sports that have gone viral, such as the kayak cross, which has been compared to Mario Kart, and combines kayak racing with strategic challenges; and breaking, a form of breakdance that involves footwork and athletic movements. The debut sports are aimed at making the Olympics “more gender-balanced, more youthful and more urban,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a briefing ahead of the kick-off. In addition to new sports, the Paris Olympics have also innovated with a three-strike ritual before each match, in a tradition inspired by French theater. At each competition, a personality comes on stage and hits the ground three times with a piece of wood called a brigadier to get everyone’s attention.

But the hype surrounding the Olympic Games is not catching on everywhere, and although cafes in popular neighborhoods are becoming increasingly full, some entrepreneurs in quieter neighborhoods are feeling disappointed and hoping to receive compensation from the government.

Melbourne-born Jess Jeacle, who runs a bike touring company in Paris, says Variety just before the Olympics, bookings dropped by 50% and have “only increased slightly since the start” of the event. “The blocks in the city change every day – after the opening ceremony and the torch relay there was the cycling, the triathlon, the marathon… The difficult thing is that we cannot rely on the maps provided by the city,” says Jeacle, and added: “Some guests love it because they are in the middle of the Olympic atmosphere, but others are bothered by the unpredictability.”

At Bistrot Paul Bert, a usually popular destination for foodies and tourists, manager Chloé Colin sums up the current mood among Parisians: “We’re not really working, but the atmosphere is great with the few people who come!”

These Olympics were also packed with drama, fueled by social media, kicking off with the opening ceremony designed to celebrate diversity and inclusivity. Featuring drag performers in a tableau that appeared to mock “The Last Supper” and a beheaded Marie-Antoinette, the event unleashed a barrage of online hate, along with vitriolic criticism from the Catholic Church and conservatives of organizers and artists, including Artistic director Thomas. Jolly, DJ Barbara Butch and famous drag artist Nicky Doll have filed a police report. But neither Jolly nor the rest of the organizers are willing to let the haters take over. The closing ceremony will take place at the Stade de France, where more Greek gods, world-famous singers and Tom Cruise will pass the flag to Los Angeles for the 2028 Games.

Ben Croll contributed to this report.