France Throws One Last Celebration With An Athletes’ March Down The Champs Elysees

The energetic atmosphere in Paris reached its peak as the vibrant summer season concluded with a magnificent display of French athletes parading triumphantly along the iconic Champs Elysees. 

The nation bid farewell to the Olympic and Paralympic Games with a spectacular celebration, culminating in a grand finale that encapsulated the spirit of unity and sporting excellence. The city sparkled with pride and joy, encapsulating a truly unforgettable moment in time.

The Parade of Champions included 460 Olympic and Paralympic athletes

460 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, including 120 medalists from Paris, participated in the Parade of Champions. Along the parade route, which finished on a stage built like a ring surrounding the Arc de Triomphe monument in the French capital, about 70,000 people lined up. 

There were also hundreds of volunteers for the Games, representatives from the Olympics and Paralympics, and city officials. The spectacular and daring opening and closing ceremonies of the July 26–August 11 Olympics and the August 28–September 8 Paralympic festivities were matched by the organizers’ celebration of French sport.

Thierry Reboul, the director of ceremonies said “Among us, we call it the 5th ceremony, We tried to include the same elements to this show as we did to the four ceremonies this summer: surprise, emotion and sharing.”

Macron decorated with state honors 120 French Olympians

Attendees included Michel Barnier, the next prime minister, and President Emmanuel Macron. Macron honored 120 French Olympians who had won medals in Paris during the ceremony, including Teddy Riner and Leon Marchand, two of the country’s top judokas and swimmers. 187 French athletes received the National Order of Merit or the Legion of Honor on Saturday, however not all of them took part in the procession. 

Macron celebrated the Olympic spirit, saying it has created “national harmony,” but this was in the midst of a very divided country and a hard political reality after the July parliamentary elections, which were held just before the commencement of the Paris Games, produced no clear winner.

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