Home fans unite at Paris’ Club France to celebrate Olympic success

PARIS (AP) — Just like the fans cheering 22-year-old French swimming prodigy Léon Marchand at La Défense Arena in western Paris, Olivier Legris was on his feet and chanting “Allez Léon! Allez Léon! (Go on Léon!)”

But Legris, 29, was nowhere near his idol. Instead, he was standing in front of a giant screen on the lawn of Club France, the largest fan zone in Paris for the Summer Games. Dressed in a Zinedine Zidane soccer jersey and a bucket hat in the colors of the French flag — despite temperatures nearing 100 degrees — he was with thousands of fans, all cheering for Marchand as he powered his way to finish first in the 200-meter butterfly semifinals on Tuesday night.

“That’s my way of joining the competition,” Legris said.

In the north of Paris, the Grande Halle de la Villette, typically an exhibition venue, has been transformed into Club France — a pulsating hub of national pride and celebration. On Tuesday, the French tricolor flag was everywhere, being waved in the hands of fans and painted on their faces.

“I’ve never felt more French,” said Zina Lemiere, a 57-year-old sporting a rooster beanie in the national colors. She has attended soccer matches at the Stade de France and is now watching the competitions at Club France.

The experience was unmistakably French, as for a brief moment the sporting celebrations made way for cultural interludes such as a ballet performance by the Preljocaj company. Outside, fans wearing berets indulged in a game of pétanque on a gravel ground set up by one of the many sponsors, to the sound of an electro remix of Edith Piaf’s classic “La Vie en rose.”

France has won a total of 18 medals so far and organizers said that more than a million French fans have watched the Olympics from one of the 150 fan zones across the country.

Every night, once the competitions wrap up, the Grande Halle transforms into a nightclub. Medal-winning French athletes often come to the venue to celebrate with their dedicated fans. Wild scenes of celebration following the French rugby sevens team’s gold medal victory went viral on Saturday.

Tuesday’s celebrations did not reach similar decibels. Judo bronze medalist Clarisse Agbegnenou is still involved in the mixed judo competition, and women’s team epee silver medalists Coraline Vitalis, Marie-Florence Candassamy, Alexandra Louis-Marie, and Auriane Mallo-Breton were unable to make it to the stage. The fencing final finished too late for the athletes to reach the venue, the organizers explained to the crowd of disappointed fans.

“We dream of touching the athletes, getting close to their medals,” said Corentin Massa, an 18-year-old fan.

But fans continued to celebrate to the sound of French party classics like “Freed from Desire,” “I Will Survive,” and “Djadja,” all booming loud on the speakers way past midnight.