In the run-up to the Olympics it’s fair to say that a certain gloom and pessimism prevailed – headlines focused on Parisians quitting the city or complaining about security measures or on fears that the ambitious opening ceremony on the River Seine would be a flop.
However, now the Games are underway, the opening ceremony wowed the world (with the exception of Donald Trump and the supreme leader of Iran) and France is doing pretty well in the medals table.
We’re not claiming that these Games have been problem free, of course – the men’s triathlon had to be postponed because of the water quality in the Seine, some athletes are not happy with conditions at the Athletes’ Village and sweltering weather has made conditions difficult at some events.
But problems notwithstanding something surprising is happening – Paris has become a place of joy, happiness and excitement and the French fans are getting very into the Games indeed.
Atmosphere
More than half of all tickets sold have gone to French people which means most events have a strong French contingent in the crowd who are providing vocal support to local athletes – yes, you’re likely to hear La Marseillaise sung a lot during these games.
Among those charmed by the support was Fin Kirwan, head of the US Olympic Committee. After watching French star swimmer Léon Marchand win gold he told Le Point: “The atmosphere is electric. The French are crazy! The public are living up to what the Olympics should be.
“I can feel that there’s a lot of joy in the air.”
The French women’s beach volleyball team – despite loud support from the crowd at the Eiffel Tower stadium – lost this morning to the Germans. But what an atmosphere in here #PARIS2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/7a4Abmakqa
— Alexandra Topping (@LexyTopping) July 28, 2024
And it’s not just at Games venues – even on the street people seem unusually cheerful; Metro stations are full of smiling staff asking commuters if they need help, Olympics volunteers are welcoming people to the city and the foreign police officers who have come to help out with the Games seem to have a holiday vibe (LAPD officers report being stopped for selfies with tourists).
Venues
One of the key concepts of these Games was to ‘take the sports out of the stadiums and into the city’ by using city centre landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde and Les Invalides to stage events.
Le parcours du #triathlon, quelle beauté 😍 pic.twitter.com/rfhw3ZuTKw
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) July 31, 2024
The result has been some truly spectacular photos which leave no-one in any doubt about which city this event took place in.
🏅The #ParisOlympics2024 don't just look INCREDIBLE, they have changed the Olympic Games forever ! No need for long explanations, just look at the next pictures and tell me if I'm wrong. Warning : they go HARD 👇 pic.twitter.com/a4z9POp0Xs
— Le Zelenskyste 🇫🇷🇺🇦 (@VolodimirZelen1) July 30, 2024
Another day, another insane Paris Olympics photo@Paris2024 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/4eP7TvbQMn
— Sophie Pedder (@PedderSophie) July 31, 2024
Superfans
In among the 9 million fans are some famous faces who also appear to have been getting into the spirit.
It’s a quiet time for politics so a lot of France’s top politicians seem to have decamped to Games venues – including president Emmanuel Macron who was straight up to the Stade de France to watch France win its first gold medal at rugby 7s.
Vous l'avez fait avec panache ! Vous donnez aux Français leur première médaille d'or de ces Jeux ! BRAVO à l'équipe de France de Rugby. pic.twitter.com/6K95E5q1CE
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 27, 2024
US rapper Snoop Dogg – who was a torch bearer during the pre-Games torch relay – turns out to be a superfan of the Olympics and has been turning his hand to everything from commentary to getting a swimming lesson from American swim legend Michael Phelps.
https://x.com/Eurosport_FR/status/1818573113551896611
But the biggest ‘superfan’ of all has to be French football star Antoine Griezmann – he has been pictured cheering on athletes in multiple venues and keeps his 8 million Twitter fans up to date with all the latest French victories.
In fact Macron even joked that anyone who wanted to keep track of France’s Olympic medal haul should just turn to Griezmann. “The app is called Antoine Griezmann,” Macron posted, with a link to the footballer’s account.
Tickets
Even before it started, the Paris Olympics had set a new record for the total number of tickets sold, with the 8.7 million purchased as of July 17th surpassing the previous high of 8.3 million at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
However that number has now risen to 9.1 million tickets sold as Olympic fever grips the city – this is partly thanks to a very efficient ticket resale site, which has allowed people to resell tickets that they no longer want or cannot use on an officially sanctioned platform in a simple four-click process.
READ ALSO How to use the Paris Olympics ticket app and resale site
Meanwhile the 100,000 free tickets on offer to see the Olympic flame hot air balloon sold out within 24 hours – organisers are now adding fresh tickets each morning.
A decade in Paris and I think watching the Olympic Games Cauldron rise above the city, the Louvre and the Seine – in the form of a hot air balloon and all that symbolically represents to the French – has been one of the most magical and memorable moments 🇫🇷 #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/8WjBMvHD8t
— Chris Neri (@christianneri75) July 28, 2024
READ ALSO How to see the Paris Olympic flame hot air balloon
The Games are not over yet, and there’s plenty that could still go wrong, but as things stand we’re a long way from the disaster that some people predicted.
✍️ 'Between the inevitable traffic jams, the security measures, and the polluted water, the Games look set to disappoint' | Writes Anne-Elisabeth Moutet
Read the column ➡️ https://t.co/6FDYQ3IXeP pic.twitter.com/ZosWA3MOXg
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) April 14, 2024
Great that France is getting into the spirit & down at the venues it’s brilliant but no disguising the fact that using the city is very disruptive. Different diversions every day as the streets are used for races, even walking around is hard. Even outer arrondissements are affected (some street markets are closed). The tourist industry is not getting the bonanza it anticipated.
I was irritated by my fellow Parisians’ pessimism pre-Games, now I am getting fed up as well.
I have lived in France for four years and travelled extensively, for the past three years.
The only place where I met unhappy, or grumpy-natured people was in Paris and they weren’t all French, by any means.
A typical French adult is: polite, considerate, thoughtful, honest, kind, compassionate and humorous.
They are delightful.