- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.61% | 24.55 | $ | |
RIO | -0.27% | 69.51 | $ | |
SCS | -0.57% | 12.897 | $ | |
AZN | -0.51% | 77.08 | $ | |
GSK | 0.08% | 38.85 | $ | |
NGG | -1.22% | 65.7 | $ | |
RELX | -0.83% | 45.91 | $ | |
VOD | 0.23% | 9.682 | $ | |
BTI | -0.23% | 35.21 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.21% | 24.76 | $ | |
BCC | 0.45% | 139.53 | $ | |
BCE | -0.58% | 33.514 | $ | |
BP | 0.72% | 33.12 | $ | |
JRI | -0.23% | 13.25 | $ |
France bid final farewell to Olympics with Champs-Elysees parade
France bid a final and reluctant farewell to the Paris Olympics on Saturday with a parade on the Champs-Elysees followed by a concert featuring artists from the opening and closing ceremonies.
The final event of an acclaimed summer of sport saw tens of thousands of fans gather on the French capital's most famous avenue where President Emmanuel Macron is set to decorate many of the medal winners with the country's top civilian awards.
Around 4,000 police were called out for a final test, having won almost almost unanimous praise for the way they kept the Games and their 12 million spectators safe during the Olympics and Paralympics.
Around 70,000 people claimed free tickets for Saturday's event in a matter of hours, with the parade of athletes, volunteers and public sector workers set to be followed by a multi-artist concert on a stage around the Arc de Triomphe.
"Saying thanks, not just to the athletes but to everyone who made these games magic, I think it's fabulous," said France's most-decorated track athlete, Marie-Jose Perec, who lit the cauldron at the start of the Games on July 26.
"It's a beautiful way of saying goodbye because everything must come to an end and tonight it will all be over," the visibly emotional 200m and 400m gold triple gold medallist told reporters as she arrived.
After months of gloom and self-doubt in the run-up to the start of the Olympics on July 26, Paris and the country at large threw themselves into the spirit of the Games.
They embraced new national sporting heroes such as triple gold medal-winning swimmer Leon Marchand while finding fresh reasons to celebrate veterans such as judoka Teddy Riner who won his fourth Olympic title.
"Thank you, thank you, it's been incredible!" Riner shouted to the cheering crowd.
The French team finished with a record medals haul of 64, including 16 golds, securing fifth place on the international table.
The Paralympic Games from August 28-September 8 were hailed as "the most spectacular ever" by the head of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons.
- Escapism -
Analysts say the Games served as a form of escapism for many French people as well as generating a rare form of national union and pride
"Everything worked, everything functioned and French people rediscovered the virtues of national cohesion," the head of the French Olympic Committee, David Lappartient, told reporters.
France's embattled president is seeking to take advantage of this more positive mood, having faced widespread criticism for his decision to call snap parliamentary elections in June which blindsided Olympics organisers.
The vote resulted in a hung parliament and historic gains for the far-right National Rally party.
"We need to respond to this spirit of the Games, of this national harmony that was expressed," Macron told the Parisien newspaper on Friday.
He was the main instigator of Saturday's event, which was not originally part of the Olympic or Paralympic programme.
The centrist leader has also announced his intention to create an Olympics-inspired "national day of sport" every year on September 14.
"We need to spend time together at a day of sport, which would take place in the street, schools, in dedicated sports centres," he told the Parisien.
Saturday night's concert will feature singer Chris, formerly of Christine & the Queens, who performed at the Paralympics opening ceremony, as well as blind Malian duo Amadou & Mariam among others.
Around 300 French athletes and parathletes took part in the parade which featured 7,000-800 people in total, including volunteers and public sector workers such as refuse collectors.
C.Garcia--AMWN