France said its final farewell to the Paris Olympics on Saturday with a parade down the Champs-Elysees, followed by concerts by artists from the opening and closing ceremonies.
The highly acclaimed sport’s final event of the summer will see tens of thousands of fans gather on the French capital’s most famous street, where President Emmanuel Macron is due to present the country’s highest civilian award to a host of medal winners.
Around 4,000 police officers, who were almost unanimously praised for keeping the Games and 12 million spectators safe during the Olympics and Paralympics, were called in for a final test.
Some 70,000 people bought free tickets in just a few hours for Saturday’s event, which will feature a parade of athletes, volunteers and public sector workers followed by multi-artist concerts on stages around the Arc de Triomphe.
“I think it’s great to say thank you, not just to the athletes, but to everyone who made these Games magical,” said Marie-Josée Perec, France’s most decorated track and field athlete, who lit the cauldron at the start of the Games on July 26.
“This is a beautiful way to say goodbye because everything comes to an end. Tonight it all ends,” the three-time gold medallist in the 200m and 400m told reporters on arrival, visibly overcome with emotion.
After months of gloom and self-doubt ahead of the opening of the Olympics on July 26, Paris and the entire country have thrown themselves into Olympic frenzy.
They welcomed new national sports heroes, like swimmer Leon Marchand, who won three gold medals, while also finding new reason to celebrate veteran athletes like judoka Teddy Riner, who won his fourth Olympic title.
“Thank you, thank you, this was incredible!” Riner yelled to the cheering crowd.
The French team achieved a record 64 medals, including 16 gold medals, securing fifth place in the international rankings.
The Paralympic Games, which took place from August 28 to September 8, were hailed as “the most spectacular ever” by International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons.
Analysts say the Olympics have provided a form of escapism for many French people and created a rare form of national unity and pride.
“Everything fell into place, everything worked and the French people rediscovered the virtues of national unity,” French Olympic Committee president David Lappartien told reporters.
France’s embattled president, who has faced widespread criticism over his decision to call early parliamentary elections in June that blindsided Olympic organisers, is seeking to capitalise on the more positive atmosphere.
The vote left parliament in limbo and gave the far-right National Rally party a historic surge.
“We need to respond to the Olympic spirit, to the national harmony that it expresses,” Macron told Le Parisien newspaper on Friday.
He was the main initiator of Saturday’s event, which was not originally part of the Olympic or Paralympic program.
The centrist leader also announced his intention to establish an Olympic-inspired “National Sports Day” on September 14 every year.
“We need to spend time together on sports days, in the streets, at schools and in dedicated sports centres,” he told Le Parisien newspaper.
Saturday night’s concert will feature performers such as former Christine and the Queens singer Chris, who also performed at the Paralympics opening ceremony, and blind Malian duo Amadou & Mariam.
The parade, which was attended by between 7,000 and 8,000 people in total, including volunteers and public sector workers such as garbage collectors, was joined by around 300 French athletes and para-athletes.
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