After weeks of grumbling, Parisians have finally embraced the carnival spirit of the Olympic Games. From café terraces to fan zones, residents of the French capital are joining thousands of visitors from abroad for a celebratory weekend, marked by a cycling race through the heart of Paris.
No QR codes, no expensive tickets, no long queues. The Olympic road cycling event in the heart of Paris on August 3-4 gave thousands of people an opportunity to see the athletes with their own eyes, without having to surmount any budget or security hurdles.
Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel made history by winning the men's cycling race on Saturday after winning gold in the time trial the previous week.
The men's road race was 273km long with 2,800 metres of climbing. It went through several iconic areas of the French capital, including northern districts like Ménilmontant, Pigalle and Montmartre, where the Olympic peloton climbed steep hills on streets lined by thousands of ecstatic fans.
It was an unforgettable show for Chantal Mansfield, a British woman living in France, who came with her 10-year-old daughter Sasha.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her," she said. "We were a bit worried about the organisation of the Olympics, but everything is working out really well!"
After watching the cycling, Mansfield and her daughter went to the Arènes de Lutèce, a Gallo-Roman amphitheatre where a small fan zone has been set up. Olympic competitions are broadcast live on a giant screen as a mix of local families and visitors enjoy the intimate setting of this arena built in the second century.
The crowd suddenly erupts in cheers when French judo legend Teddy Riner beat his Japanese rival, giving France the judo mixed team title. Mansfield quickly grabbed her phone to film the rapturous celebration around her.
"My friends abroad think that the French shun the Olympics, so I send them videos to show them the festive atmosphere here," she says.
The local Olympic fervour is also a nice surprise for Marie Heyraud, a project manager living in Paris.
"I wanted to rent out my flat for the duration of the Olympics, and it's a very good thing I didn't manage to do that in the end," says the young Parisian. "A lot of my friends left and now they regret it ... it's really something you have to experience once in your life."
She watched the cycling race earlier in the streets of the capital along with three friends who had come from the UK just for the Olympics. Following on the heels of the opening ceremony, they said the cycling event also put forward a "very good image of France".
