Posted on 07/22/2024 3:16:03 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Organisers want to push positive image of multiculturalism at Friday's extravaganza on Seine
The Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games opening ceremony on July 26 is expected to celebrate the country's diversity while poking fun at Parisian stereotypes in a country mired in political disputes.
Set to take place over 6km on the Seine river instead of a closed stadium, the high-profile event is expected to bring a breath of fresh air to an otherwise polarised France.
"I expect positive aspects of immigration to be highlighted alongside the values of multiculturalism," sports historian Yvan Gastaut told The National.
"We should expect a cultural and scenic translation of this vision."
The hope is that for a moment, the world will be dazzled by the show and forget France's current political infighting after a surprise snap election this month.
"The narrative will probably be a form of resistance to the withdrawal into itself that France has known for the past few years," said Mr Gastaut.
The team that has worked on designing the show have given hints about what inspired them but its exact details are to remain shrouded in mystery until the last minute.
Artistic director Thomas Jolly told Le Monde this week that the ceremony will include 12 sets that will feature Paris's most famous sites and the values they carry.
"France, for example, is in the eyes of the world a promise of freedom – a promise it always breaks but to which it remains attached," Mr Jolly said.
His colleague, writer Leila Slimani, said: "We wanted a very generous story. There had to be joy, emulation, movement, excitement and sparkle."
Some ideas that were later discarded give an idea of how the river will be included in the show.
There was talk at first of statues of famous men coming to life before jumping into the Seine and swimming in synchronised breast stroke.
Paris has long been a favourite backdrop for the TV industry, with the most recent example being the Netflix hit Emily in Paris.
Next week's ceremony will poke fun at stereotypes of a romantic city populated by excessively self-confident, baguette-eating locals.
"We played with those stereotypes and the American view of France, but without mocking them," said Mr Jolly.
Ms Slimani, who grew up in Morocco, studied in France and now lives in Portugal, said: "We don't want any seriousness in the ceremony. There is a lot of humour in the show. At least, I hope so."
France, which has a large population from former colonies in North Africa, has a complicated relationship with multiculturalism.
Immigrants to the highly centralised state are expected to adapt to the French vision of secularism.
The most striking example of this was the 2004 Muslim veil ban in schools, which has been extended to French female athletes in the Olympic Games.
The far-right political party Rassemblement National, which obtained its best score in a recent European election, routinely accuses immigrants of not integrating into society.
France is now mired in political paralysis after a snap election called by French President Emmanuel Macron to "clarify the situation" after the far-right surge.
The so-called cordon sanitaire, in which leftists and centrists stepped down to block the far-right, caused it to gain less seats than expected, although they have nearly doubled since the 2017 election.
Long gone is the excitement brought on by the "black blanc beur" days of the 1998 World Cup that was won by the French national team and its famous player of Algerian origin, Zinedine Zidane.
But organisers of next week's ceremony are likely to want to rekindle similar fraternal feelings as more than 10,000 athletes sail down the Seine past sites such as Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower.
"It will probably no longer about defending immigration but celebrating harmony in a diverse country," Mr Gastaut said.
The biggest source of inspiration for the ceremony is the July 14, 1989, parade down the Champs Elysee to mark 200 years since the French Revolution.
Organised by publicist Jean-Paul Goude, it was described at the time as a "great parade of the planet's tribes".
One million people watched the event that included 8,000 participants in a succession of shows, including a steam train and a remembrance of the Tiananmen square massacre in China.
The French national hymn, La Marseillaise, was sung by American opera singer Jessye Norman.
Its optimism inspired historian Patrick Boucheron, who is also part of the team preparing the opening ceremony.
"The parade defied national stereotypes and wasn't afraid to advocate for a 'global mix' with an optimism that we have lost today," said Mr Boucheron.
"This disenchantment was in itself a source of inspiration for me."
I can guarantee that not ONE minute of this idiocy will be watched in our household.
Unless, of course, we have a replay of the events from the ‘Munich Massacre’ of 1972.
Wouldn’t put it past the goat-humpers to try it again - or any Socialist Democrat in league with them.
*SPIT*
French toast.
Will it be as cringeworthy as the 2012 London Olympic’s celebration of the NHS with dancing nurses and patients in beds?
So the "artist" in charge HATES his own country. Disgusting.
the open border neoCON / commie globohomos are really sick and evil. Doing satan’s work to help bring about a one-world government by breaking down nations and borders.
Oh, and Greta needs to be there as well. Will it be an all EV show, or will gas-powered equipment be involved?
I read something interesting today on Andy NGO. He was showing video of the riots in Leeds. He said that the grooming gangs started with Roma. I didn’t know that there were Roma Muslims, but that is who started the grooming gangs and sex trafficking in England. I guess that is also who started the Muslim migration in the days before Brexit.
The Rotherham gangs that provoked a government investigation were Pakistani. Same with the group of men convicted of child rape and imprisoned—and because of whom Tommy Robinson was imprisoned for leading protests outside the court.
Even the Hindu and Sikh families in UK working-class towns could not get the police to protect their daughters, because the police feared being called “racist.”
I’ve read the DailyMail for years, and have missed seeing any articles about Roma rape gangs or Roma muslims; so if you have a link to Ngo’s story, I’d be interested.
No, you are misunderstanding what I was saying. It is probably my fault. The Roma Muslims started the grooming gangs when travel between the EU countries and England was easy. The Pakistanis came later.I don’t understand how sexual grooming and sex trafficking exists within the Islamic community..
Tomorrow is supposed to be a Day of rage in DC against Netanyahu, I pray that Democrats come to their senses.
No, you are misunderstanding what I was saying. It is probably my fault. The Roma Muslims started the grooming gangs when travel between the EU countries and England was easy. The Pakistanis came later.I don’t understand how sexual grooming and sex trafficking exists within the Islamic community..
Tomorrow is supposed to be a Day of rage in DC against Netanyahu, I pray that Democrats come to their senses.
All of those churches pictured were actually *destroyed*?? Horrible.
When people speak of Gay Paree
They think that when they say Paree is gay
They mean that gay Paree is gay;
It is! Not in the way Paree
Was gay in yesterday Paree;
It means today that gay Paree is "Gay!"
Not that gay!
They say Paree has always been "that way!"
Along the banks of the Seine
Just take a walk now and then
You'll meet some interesting men: Gay Paree!
Gay didn’t mean the same thing then.
True, but that poopular song may very well have been the source of the additional meaning. Leftists have always hijacked the language in ways opposite of their original meaning. What they call gay is really sad, feminism is really female masculinism, socialists are anti-social baby killers, communism destroys communities, liberals are book burning ban freaks, Kommy is genetically a red-dot Indian. Every single thing from the left is a big lie. The reason is: whenever the left tells the truth, they lose.
I swiped it from the internet and can’t attest to its authenticity. But I know there have been a lot, because I read the DailyMail, which often comments on the issue of Europe. And some churches may not have been knocked down or bought by muslims, but the priests were murdered on the altar in several.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.