The End of Olympic Escapism for Gloomy France | France 24 English

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, embracing new national sporting heroes along the way. The closing ceremony for the Paralympics on Sunday, when the Olympic flame will be extinguished for a final time, will mark the end of six weeks of thrilling sport and almost flawless organisation that produced a sense of escapism from the country’s divisions and woes.