France celebrated its national day amid uncertainty about its political future. It was supposed to be a beautiful prelude to the once-in-a-century Paris Olympics, yet ……
A month ago, President Macron’s decision to dissolve Parliament disrupted everything. In the second round of legislative elections, which were split between the left, center and extreme right, no majority was formed in Congress and the new government was difficult to produce.
Political uncertainty and unprecedented events
On the eve of the Fourth of July, another unpredictable and shocking event took place across the ocean, when former U.S. President Donald Trump was shot at a campaign rally, causing social panic, and was fortunately physically unharmed, still holding his demonstrative fists high as he was escorted to his car by agents. It is difficult to predict how much of a shock this event will have on the US presidential election. At the moment, his opponent, another presidential candidate, Democrat and incumbent President Joe Biden, is doing his best to convince his supporters that he is not senile.
Avenue Foch is not as wide as the Champs Elysées, extravagant, deep and long, the parade, the aerial spectacle is reduced by half, there are no tanks or armored vehicles on the ground …… low-key, simple, unobtrusive elegance, the ceremony at the end of the Black Horse Rider, holding the Olympic torch, the Rio Olympic gold medalist, Colonel Thibault Vallette, appeared on stage Colonel Thibault Vallette, the gold medalist from Rio, appeared on the stage, and so the flame appeared in Paris. The Colonel passed the torch to a group of junior high school students from the suburbs, the symbolic “Rien ne se perd jamais” was played, and the torch was passed from the hands of the athletes to those of the students, and from here to Paris.
Paris prepares for the Olympics amidst turbulence
Except for the last Marseillaise, the music that accompanied the ceremony had a gentle tempo that gradually entered the heart. Soldiers, students, civilians, high-ranking officials, a republican atmosphere. Macron smiles, Prime Minister Attal is calm, this is a republican moment, the storm of politics can be left behind for a while, it can be a few minutes later, everything is the same, everything is hard to forget. The song “Rien ne se perd jamais” was moving, but the current situation in the Fifth Republic is clearly Macron’s undoing.
In the second round of the legislative elections, the French originally feared that the far-right would take over, and that if it did, it would be the government of Le Pen’s National Alliance that would be standing here today. Concerns about this prospect forced the republicans to make a temporary alliance, and in the end, the far-right not only failed to sweep the parliament, but fell into third place. However, splits within the left are once again on the table, and the center-right is counting, as Macron’s camp, with just over 160 MPs left, tries to connect the dots and form a moderate left-center-right coalition, but Macron’s appeal is being questioned. With a new government hard to produce and a 2027 presidential election on the horizon, so much delay favors a Marlene . Le Pen’s comeback.
The election in the allied United States is still a melee, and the prospect of a populist victory worries Europe; the war in Ukraine still has no end in sight, and Putin is trying his best to drag Xi Jinping into the chariot of madness, with Europe as a whole on the edge of its seat. Democracies are in turmoil because they are democratic, and autocracies are getting stronger because they are authoritarian.
However, the Paris Olympics are coming soon, in line with the principle that new buildings should be as few as possible, emissions should be greatly reduced compared to London, and the competition should live in the middle of the city residents, the famous attractions in Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées, the Place des Saints of War, the Porte de Versailles Exposition Center, the Courtyard of Honor, the Pont Alexandre Bridge, and the gardens of the Palace of Versailles have been built to host the competition venues and grandstands, and a sports park is built around the venue specifically for the public to integrate sports competition and public leisure. A sports park has been set up around the stadium for the public, integrating sports competitions and public recreation.
It’s not easy at the moment. The French have a saying: life goes on. The Olympic torch has reached Paris. Regardless of its political turmoil and the uncertainty of the situation on the other side of the ocean, just wait until July 26th, on the Seine River, a thousand sails drumming, the world’s athletes rowing, 300,000 spectators on both sides of the crowd.
The American writer Ernest Hemingway, who spent some time in Paris in his youth, made a profound remark: Paris is a flowing feast.
