#I'm French so Olympics = Paris this year

[walnutmistjamie]

@giftober 2024 Day 13: (Paris) Olympics

[kemlyn]

UEFA was responsible for the Champions League final fiasco in Paris last May, while Liverpool supporters were ‘instrumental’ in saving lives on the night, an official inquiry commissioned by the European football governing body has found.

A panel of experts including politicians, academics and lawyers was set up by UEFA itself last summer to investigate the chaotic scenes at the Stade de France, where Liverpool fans including women, children and the disabled were tear gassed by riot police, mugged by armed gangs of local youths, and kettled into dangerous crushes as they tried to enter the stadium to access European football’s showpiece fixture.

The group has now finalised it conclusions which lay the blame firmly at UEFA’s door, with its report saying that the organisation’s pre-match planning was based on an ‘absence of overall control or oversight of safety and security.’

The findings of the 158-page report reveal that senior figures at UEFA were aware that the organisation was ignoring its own safety and security policies in the build-up to the match, but did not act to rectify the situation, throwing into serious doubt the positions of key members of its hierarchy including President Aleksander Ceferin.

Furthermore, there was ‘no evidence’ to support the ‘reprehensible’ claims made by UEFA and the French authorities in the aftermath that masses of ticketless Liverpool fans attempting to gain illegal entry to the match were at fault. ‘Assertions regarding huge numbers of ticketless supporters, and those with fake tickets, have been wrongly inflated and have been stated as fact, to deflect responsibility for the planning and operational failures,’ the report reads.

Instead, the panel’s findings heap praise on fans who attended the game, saying that their behaviour significantly contributed to the narrow avoidance of a ‘mass fatality catastrophe.’

‘The collective actions of Liverpool FC supporters were probably instrumental in protecting vulnerable people and averting what might well have been more serious injuries and deaths,’ the panel found. ‘It is remarkable that no one lost their life.’

[bunny-jpeg]

goin' for gold! (simon edition)

simon "ghost" riley

cw: smut/pwp, olympics fic, jealousy/possessive behaviour, simon hates the french (not really, but kinda), couch sex, cowgirl, big dick!simon, breast worship/play, hickies, naked!reader/clothed!simon

bunny says! reblogs, tags & comments feed the rabbit!

the summer olympics didn't matter until they did. while simon didn't care if the united kingdom won gold in things like track or fencing. he cared if they won in rugby or volleyball. but regardless, this was an england household. so why were you standing there in an oversized team france shirt.

"love." he said, not wanting to make accusations. he leaned forward in his spot on the couch, his elbows on his knees and his fingers interlocked. he raised his eyebrows, "what's that?"

you turned to look at him, you were standing nearby the couch. the word 'france' across your pretty tiddies. your pretty tiddies shouldn't say france. you asked, "what's what?"

he pointed towards your chest, "that... why is it team france, love? did you buy the wrong one. i know the colours are the same but, c'mon."

you pointed to the front of the shirt and smiled, "well, i'm cheering for france this year. since they're hosting! i always cheer for the team hosting the event." your smile was so pretty with your explanation for what you were doing.

he leaned back a little and placed a hand on his strong thigh, "lovie." he gave a small nod, "you know we're in england right? ya can't go around in that."

you nodded, "i know, si. that's why i'm wearing it in here." in reference to the home you both shared. you really weren't getting it. he watched you come over to him and sit down on his open lap. you cupped his face and smiled, "you don't mind do you?"

he chuckled and cupped your face. his eyes met yours, but his attention kept getting pulled to the garish shirt you wore. he sighed and replied, "of course i don't mind, but." he leaned in closer, his voice hot in your ear, "i think you'd look better without a shirt."

he couldn't help it, he felt a little jealous. france had you as a supporter for this years games? you should be cheering with simon on the couch. he'd even let you have some of his beer or even make you one of those sweet cocktails you loved so much. you should be in a different red, white and blue. the lines should criss-cross to make the flag of the united kingdom.

not france.

you poked your lover in the cheek, "you want to fuck while the opening ceremony is happening?" you giggled.

he reached for your soft hip and gave it a gentle squeeze, in reality he wanted to get you out of that shirt. he wanted it burned if he got his way. but he wouldn't say no to sex with you. he wasn't blind.

his pretty girl all snuggled in his lap as the opening ceremony was about to start. so he smiled and then took the bottom of that horrible t-shirt and yanked up.

you were in a flurry of giggles as you got up from his lap to give you a better ability to take your shorts off and then your underwear. you were soon naked, and simon had tossed your shirt somewhere on the floor. you smiled at the sight of him laid back in the couch and his hand around his leaky cock.

"excited for the games?" you asked as you got back onto his lap. you straddled his waist with your hands in the fabric of his shirt. your cunt painfully close to his erection.

taking simon's cock was a bit of a challenge. his cock was fat and his balls were heavy. when you first saw it, you couldn't fit it in your mouth. but years of dating have earned you enough courage to take it all.

you rubbed your slick pussy up against the tip before he took hold of your hips and sank you down on it. you moaned loudly from the stretch and gripped onto him tighter. you stomach leapt from the intrusion and you started to ride him.

the opening ceremony for the 2024 paris olympics has begun as you rocked your hips against simon. his cock snug in your tight pussy. you felt excitement race through you as you moved.

simon's attention were on your breasts now that they weren't advertising that stupid country. the french. ugh, he would've accepted almost any other country! why not ireland! or america? there were so many other countries! why france.

his hands then went to your pretty breasts once you established your pace. he grabbed at them and panted heavily. but soon touching with his hands wasn't enough and eventually he was kissing at them. which led to bite marks across the skin.

he wanted to see your nipples nice and bruised by the time he finished inside of you. he loved your breasts, doesn't matter if you were in a lace bra or a sports bra or no bra at all! he wanted to touch them, play with them, no matter the size!

the hickies grew darker the more his focused his attention onto the sweet flesh. he could feel your heartbeat under his teeth when he snuck bites further up your chest.

your hands were on his shoulders as you moved. "you feel so good, simon. ah!" you sounded so sweet. a sweet girl like you shouldn't be wearing the french flag! you were too pretty for that!

simon could feel the heat in his cheeks as he felt you rut against him with vigor. the heat reached to his ears and turned them pink as you rolled against him. simon continued to kiss and bite your breasts.

he loved marking you, he loved his hickies on your skin. he groaned against you and felt his cock twitch inside of you.

you kept up the pace, as the pleasure coursed through your body. you pushed the hair out of your face as you continued to move against him.

he praised you, murmurs against your warm breasts. he cupped them in his hands to give him a better angle to cover you in pretty pink and red marks. you were so beautiful.

the television kept playing as you humped against him. your cheeks felt hot all the way to your neck. you clawed at the back of his shirt as you bounced on him.

"my girl." he groaned.

"si!"

"i got ya, love. i got ya, forever." his eyes remained glued on your bouncing tits. he was mesmerized.

"si!" you whimpered as you really worked his cock. it all felt so good inside of you. you whined loudly when you orgasmed and held onto your lover's shoulders.

simon continued to sucked on your breasts. his teeth grazed across your nipples as he felt your cunt clench around his cock. as you slowed down, simon picked up the pace to reach his own orgasm.

his buried his face between your breasts and thrusted up into you rapidly. he felt them jiggle against his cheeks and soon he finished as well. you whimpered once more while he let out a low groan.

"that's it. that's it, love. so good for me." he panted as he slowed his pace.

soon after, you got off his lap and laid out on the couch, your head rested against his shoulder as you felt the lingering feeling of post orgasmic bliss. simon then wrapped an arm around you, keeping you close to him.

he showered you in kiss and love. you did look better without that horrible shirt on. plus, he loved the sight of your pretty breasts. no need to ruin it with a horrid country across 'em.

when he got you into bed to relax after the fucking you two had. simon went back to the living room and found your shirt on the floor. the bold letters of france glared at him. he turned off the television and grabbed the shirt before he tossed it in bottom of the trash in the kitchen.

you didn't need that, it was only right you'd be cheering for england. after all, they were going to blow those frenchies out of the water. the olympics didn't matter, until it did. <3

[littlefankingdom]

Everytime something happens in France in a comic, I realize how little researches comics writers do. And like, if they are this bad with my western country, how bad it is with third-world countries they talk about???

In Nightwing (2016), Raptor is from a circus that was near Paris during Mary Grayson's childhood, so more than 40 years ago at least.

In this flashback, they accuse the mayor of Paris of having given leprosy to the romani and of keeping away the meds they need. Already, with our healthcare's system, it's hardly possible, as they would be able to go to a hospital to get the help they need. Do they think "public healthcare" means the state has a direct control on medication, because that's not the case at all. The French gov control the money put into medication, how much is bought, but a mayor has no power over this. I just don't understand how something like this could happen. You can totally write a racist medical scandal in France, but makes it make sense with our system.

But also, Paris didn't have a mayor until 1977, so if it's before 1977, impossible. And, Paris' mayor from 1977 to 1995 is JACQUES CHIRAC, who was the PRESIDENT after. They wrote a story implying that a French President kept medications away from sick people, was discovered and was still elected President. And, yes, the French government is far from good and they have deeply harmed the romani, but like, maybe don't write shit like that. (Also, Chirac was really against the war of Iraq, and stood up against the US, which France is still paying the price for to this day. So I don't really like an USAmerican to criticize Chirac. Like, we can do it, others can do it, but not USAmericans, y'all have done enough) I'm pretty sure that wasn't the goal of the writers. No, what happen is that they didn't do researches about Paris' mayor and so, wrote that shit.

This may be inspired by the contaminated blood's scandal in the 80s-90s, which was worst in France, but no mayor was found guilty, it was doctors who knowingly contaminated patients with a deadly illness. And the French government was held accountable, even if they had no hand in it, as a matter of principle.

I understand it's a fiction, and they didn't literally wrote "Chirac did this", but it's kind of clumsy. (Especially because of everything I wrote earlier about Chirac's politics and how the US is still punishing France for being against killing civilians and destroying Iraq. France was doing the right thing, and the US worked so France would go back in line and treat Arabs like shit. Do not think western countries are free from the US' imperialism)

And in no way I'm saying that you cannot write France being awful, I know my gov's crimes (rn, they have deported homeless out of Paris for the Olympics, the President is refusing to acknowledge the left won the elections and to take a leftist prime minister so we have no prime minister since mid July and fuck democracy I guess, they support Israel's crimes against humanity, and are behaving like the colonizers that they are in New-Caledonia, sending the armies against the Kanaks that have not enough power on their own land), I'm just saying it should at least be believable enough to work. (Easiest way: make the cops racist. Boom. Also, French cops talk like vilains, it's insane.) And also, not about someone touchy like clumsily painting badly a president that was punished by the US for doing the right thing.

[rivnedell]

I'm just fucking ashamed to be French, though I always was more proud to be European and identified as citizen of the world (well European proud now is questionable tho..) And I never felt like I was born in the right place, something always felt off. And fuck, tonight.. I feel so kxndkdkdokdjxf.

I love many things in France. But.. I think I hate more things that I love some.. I've always felt attracted to foreigners, talk to them, speak with them and exchange point of views.

I'm glad I was born here bc yeah, we have social security, we can vote, woman can proceed abortion, we are Free (well, les and less since Macaron 🥲, I know, we like to call him this way)..... And fuck things were bad before he arrived at the Elysée but since 2017......... It's H.E.L.L.

ALSO

My fellows foreign friends who would like to come to the Olympics in Paris PLEASE DO NOT COME !! It's going to be a shit show (I'm looking forward to seeing that shit happen tho so it will shut the fucking bureaucrats' nuts head).

Reasons not to come :

- They forced students to move out from they student lodging !! Like... Some are on the streets now ?? They encouraged renters to move their tenants so they could rent their apartment at crazy rates to tourists. (All of this in Paris.)

- They forced to move, like literally took them in buses, homeless refugees out of Paris and Ile-de-France (Paris region) to farer regions (invluding where I live), they left them there, without any care or home, the gov b just like... "Let's just move the "problem" but we don't make anything to help them" 😤 So where I live now there's countless men, hanging in the streets, helpless, homeless, drunk and cracked, and I'm scared, even walking during daytime. I have all the sympathy of the world regarding to their situation + how they were treated by the governement, but the lack of help makes them, in a righful title, more aggressive and defensive. (And this is how the gov keeps the vicious circle going, no help, defensiveness, aggressiveness, more police etc etc..)

- The metro tickets will go from 2€50 (WHICH IS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE ALREADY WTF) to 4€ YALL do not come and waist your money to the metro company please !!!

- The government/senate passed a law for "exceptional" video surveillance with AI for the Olympics, which Amnesty Internation did condemn bc it flirts with violation of Human Rights... Well Macaron activated it... A fucking year ago, yes in April 2023 and will last WAAAAY after the Olympics. And on top of it they didn't confirm that AI facial recognition will be totally prohibited. They didn't fucking confirm it's an absolute no, they reserved themselves the possibility to use it "just in case". They let the fog settle so they can sell and use citizens' private data. Bros are going to transform France into China, extra militarized and super aggressive police... For the universe's sake, I can't stand those jerks.

So the Olympics are clearly used as pretexts to pass laws and things that are NOT OKAY at all. I mentioned the main things of course but all of the organization is outraging for us here. And I pray the Universe Macaron will caught a cold when the atrocity of this will hit his nose in a great wave of cruel ice just as cruel and degrading he is.

Period.

[idk-i-want-mcl-content]

my candy's profile 💗🦇

first of all, I want to thank @eldaryasharbinger @queenkamisama and @candysweetposts because they had inspired me to do this with my oc and I completely credit them with the template ideas and everything 💗 I really enjoy reading about your candys!

credit to @cafekitsune for the dividers 💗 (also, I'm going to make a spanish version of this post, but later)

As a warning, this is a REALLY long post, i'm not joking lol I've yapped a lot and there's still a lot of info left xd

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 24 years old (she's turning 25 the year the game takes place)

Birthday: December 8th

Nationality: Salvadorian.

Languages: Spanish, English and French.

Sexuality: Panromantic Demisexual.

Appearance details: She has little dimples that are visible every time she laughs or smiles, has a lot of bruises on her knees and stretch marks on her hips. Most of the time she has eye bags and she straightens her hair, but naturally it has more of a wavy texture. She has body hair.

Outfits

Work - Every day - At the beach - Formal/Date

Relationships dynamics

Devon, main romantic interest: When she first arrived at Devenementiel she was a bit intimidated by Devon, because she wanted to do things right and give a good impression. As time passed, his charisma and kindness made her feel a lot more comfortable and after he helped her in her first solo project, she felt like they were on really good terms. Candy definitely feels attracted to him, but questions if it would be a good idea after what happened last time (she hasn't told anyone on the team about it) - When she had to start looking for apartments and Devon helped her with the interview (he volunteered after seeing how stress she was about it), it was the first time in MONTHS she saw Devon nervous around her. Ironically, he seemed to be enjoying the situation more than her, and the shine in his eyes when he called her "my wife" would be something difficult to forget. ("Didn't you say this would be difficult?" "idk, it was easy to think about you as my wife" "... you said WHAT NOW?") - On Devon's part, there's a lot of qualities of her that he likes, after all he hired her, but he specially likes how passionate and dedicated she is with her work and hobbys, but sometimes she can get way too carried with details and it stresses him lol they're working on it tho.

- Both are ambitious and so, I can see them having constant problems with making time to be together. They sort of mirror each other in the things they value the most and their biggest flaw, so finding a balance it's going to be harder than confessing to each other lol - Candy was quite disappointed with Devon's behavior when Thomas told everyone Roy's habit. She kept herself out of the jokes and everything but when they were deciding whether or not to spy on Roy and she told him how inappropriate it would be (for a THIRD time) for a moment she could tell he was hesitant, but proceded with everyone else except her and Amanda. Days after, when the topic came up again (because Roy did prank them and told them Amanda and Candy warned him): "I should've know you were planning something." "I'll give credit to Roy for the prank, but I was actually concerned for him. " "Candy, we are friends, nothing was going to happen to him" "Devon, believe me, you don't want to go on that hill with me again. I think you know Roy's boundaries, but this is one of mine's" and if bro didn't noticed he was fucking up, it was clear by her tone and glare: It reminded him of her "conversation" with Jason. Roy, coworker and friend: Roy and Candy had good chemistry since the start, mainly because of how easy going Roy is and as time passed they ended up being friends. They like to talk about Roy's swimming competitions and you can BET they were following some Paris 2024 Olympics events.

- They liked talking about TV shows Roy watches and every once in a blue moon when their schedules are free they like to go to the movies with other friends. Wouldn't say their friendship is perfect, because sometimes they but heads when Roy's being way too impulsive but at the end of the day they balance it out. Thomas, coworker: Candy didn't knew how to approach Thomas at first, he and Amanda seemed to her like they were just going to be on co-worker terms, feeling like they didn't have anything in common. Now that she has been working at Devenementiel for some time, she enjoys debating with Thomas A LOT to the point that if Amanda or Elenda see them talking they will literally leave xd.

- They are the type of friends where one ask a seemingly insignificant question and the other answers the most serious way, trying to think logically about it, and the conversation ends up being an hour long lol. In my canon, them and Amanda are like, the moon to Devenementiel's team Sun¿

- Their relationship sometimes can be unpredictable, because they disagree on really important topics and as i've mentioned my Candy heavily dislikes gossips and Thomas isn't as bothered with boundaries as she is, so when in ep 04 Thomas started to talk about Jason's personal life she started to dislike that part of his personality, even arguing with him "How is it that you feel comfortable sharing the personal information of others, but never talk about yourself and when people ask, you ignore them? Isn't it unfair?" And Thomas just gave a half-ass answer. Amanda, coworker: Now, with Amanda it's really funny, because even thought they work in the same department of the company and both have similar work styles she didn't like her from the start.

- She thought Amanda would be the type of person to put others down to lift her own accomplishments, and at the time she didn't really bother talking with her outside of work-related things. After all, she had plenty of coworkers like that in EPMC and even ballet.

- Her perception of Amanda changed with the events of episode 08 and after sitting with her and talking, she found out Amanda thought the same of her, plus she thought Candy didn't took things seriously enough sometimes. But instead of making her angry or offended Candy just laughed because for the longest time they were both concerned about something false, finding it ironic. Amanda was quite puzzled with her reaction but at the end they agreed to try and be friends, which ended up being easier after that first bad impression.

- Candy takes a lot of fashion advice from Amanda and she considers Candy a safe person to talk a little more about her own sexuality, since she mentioned she has dated women before. Since Amanda likes dancing, she's the only one of the team who Candy has show some of her performances (Even thought she has years of experience Candy's really shy of her abilities since she compares herself A LOT with others). All of this trust, of course, has taken them some time to build up but they've become more closed than what people think.

Jason, work rival: Can I just say, that I think this Candy on paper, would have fitted better in Goldreamz rather than Devenementiel? but what's done it's done yk. (in my mind there's an au where she is working at goldreamz but that's a story for another day) - When she first met Jason on ep 02, he didn't necessarily impressed her but she didn't thought he wasn't as bad as Roy mentioned, however, the things she assumed about Amanda ended up becoming true with Jason: His arrogance and constant remarks about him being better than Devenemetiel and Devon in everything annoyed her quickly, and interally she was trying not to take it personally and ignored Jason's attempts to provoke her, something he didn't quite appreciated. "How interesting, Devon, it seems like your new employee is the most professional out of you three." "Better say of the four of us, Jason. Or would you say arrogancy is a desirable quality in a bussiness partner?" "You can interpret it as arrogancy, but I'm prideful of the services my company can offer to our clients" "If you were so confident, at least in my opinion, there wouldn't be such a need to remark it every time you speak. After all, actions are worth more than words, isn't it?" - In general, she doesn't find Jason to be incompetent or anything like that, but she despise that facade of his. If it's canon that Jason searched for Candy's number and contacted her, he would promptly get ignored, not because she doesn't want to answer but knows that's exactly what he wants. - In ep 06 when Goldreamz and Devenementiel's team are arguing, I imagine she wouldn't say anything and just dedicate to analyze and contrast information, retaining a laugh because she finds it so funny when Devon, Thomas and Jason are being sarcastic.

Elenda coworkers, friends: Elenda reminds Candy SO MUCH of her best friend so it's not a surprise they got along pretty quickly, as she did with Roy. She has a soft spot for Elenda tbh, similar to Brune. They are wholesome and Elenda makes her laugh a lot. Even if she has insisted to see at least a video of any of her ballet performances, Candy isn't revealing anything lol. I can 100% imagine them going to a karaoke and BLASTING Crowstorm's songs (picture them not being able to talk the next day at work xddd) either that or pop songs. I imagine they just found each other in a karaoke as a coincidence once, since both were with their own friends, but now they go together.

Brune, coworkers, on good terms: In my headcanons, Brune can speak spanish as her second language so when Candy is burned OUT of speaking french she would exclusively talk spanish to Brune lol They are not as closed as with Elenda, but they do joke around and appreciate the other's sincerity.

um hello hi and thank u for reading all of this? like wow xd I'm going to continue adding info and as i've mentioned before i'm going to make a spanish version of this post, just for the funsies yk, but that's going to be on another time. Also, I would have been infuriated if I wrote this before episode 08 because my perception of Thomas, who I've had considered my main route, change in an awful way :c Devon too did things I don't like, but for the sake of completing this I chose him (believe me I thought about it a lot of time xddd)

[batlleonafc]

(It's google translate so there probably are some errors)

You won the 2024 Alain Gilles Trophy ahead of Guerschon Yabusele, Mathias Lessort and Victor Wembanyama. What does this ranking mean to you? I can't believe it! They are great players and I am a fan. After the disappointment of the Olympic Games final, I really felt how much we moved people, how much they were inspired. Even today, people talk to me about that match. It touches me. It was really my goal to make France proud during the Olympic Games. Are you aware that your tears at the end of the final were one of the most memorable images of the Games? I didn't expect that. Plus, when you're in the game, you don't think about anything else. Throughout the competition, I tried to avoid any distractions around me. Whether positive or negative. It was when I was able to breathe and understand what we had just accomplished that I realized. And it was an important moment for women's basketball I think. The attention around us meant that we were able to leave a mark on people, offer them souvenirs. The Olympic campaign is what allowed you to win the Alain Gilles Trophy while your club season was difficult... The season was complicated with Lyon. I had personal problems. However, I was having a good season and I was disappointed to leave because I knew that the team needed me (19.9 pts, 6.8 rbds, 3.9 pds in only 11 matches). But there are more important things than basketball in life. The Games were a second chance to play in front of the French public. It probably changed the perception of my year. I won't only keep bad memories of it. You have made many sacrifices, particularly with regard to your WNBA career, to prioritize the French team since 2021. Do your two Olympic medals validate these choices? I didn't need to validate these choices with others. For me, it was validated from the beginning. Since my first match with Les Bleues. Really. It was my dream. But I'm still happy that people understand my choices. And that they realize that basketball exists outside the United States. Open your eyes. What I experienced at the Games are things that you only experience once in a lifetime. After two Olympic medals and a European silver medal, do you still have the flame to continue your investment with Les Bleues? We still haven't won anything! So of course. I'm happy and proud of our results. But I want more. On the other hand, right now, I'm focused on Fenerbahçe. There are five trophies to win. I already have one. That's what I'm thinking about. You insisted on your desire to change French mentalities, particularly with regard to ambition, the will to win. Do you think you have achieved this? It's always a work in progress. But with the new generation of players, when I saw the faces of my teammates after the final, when I saw the families, it reassured me for the future. When we lost in the Euro final or in the semi-final of the Games, I had the feeling that we were saying to ourselves: it's going to be okay, we'll see at the next competition. The feeling after the United States was completely different. I feel that this group really believes that we can be the best team in the world. I saw Leila Lacan cry. I saw Dominique Malonga's family who were just waiting for gold. You have to have this feeling of being the best team to win gold. After Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028 is looming. Are the Games in the United States a prospect that particularly motivates you? I know it can be special. But it's in four years. It's too far away. I work step by step. Fenerbahçe. The November window with the French team. 2028? Let's start with November 2024. To become European champion in 2025? I want to be champion of everything!

[vavuska]

Imane Khelif reacts to the cyberbullying campaign spread by Elon Musk: 'You hate me but you don't even know me'

An emotional Imane Khelif has taken aim at Elon Musk for leading the cruel campaign against her we all know about during this summer's Olympics.

Imane Khelif was able to win a gold medal in boxing out in Paris, despite the huge impact of the cruel lies surrounding her gender, that dominated headlines throughout the Games, had on her psychological well-being and her family's concerns.

Khelif is a cisgender 25 year-old girl, but was subjected to a massive campaign of hate online - mainly conducted by far-right politicians and propaganda players - and has been harassed by million of strangers for her physical appearance and baseless and harmful rumors about her gender identity throughout the Olympics, with Elon Musk, Donald Trump and J. K. Rowling even joining the pile-on at one stage.

« Immediately after there was a lot of noise from politicians, athletes, stars, artists — Elon Musk and Donald Trump and that hurt me a lot, I cannot describe how scared I was, »the 25-year-old said.

« This affected me. I'm not lying to you, it affected me a lot. It hurt a lot. I can't describe the fear I had but thank God I was able to overcome it. Thank god, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will. »

Imane Khelif, not only didn't permit to the responsible of the cruel attacks to break her concentration in training, but also fought back: she responded to the Golden Trio - Trump, Musk and Jo - by filing a cyberbullying lawsuit against all of them.

In an interview on French TV show CLIQUE, Khelif fought back the tears after being asked about Musk inviting further abuse with his post about her on Twitter/X:

« Elon Musk was one of the first to attack me during this hate campaign. He posted this video and it was retweeted. So, he was one of the first to have spread this buzz, this campaign against me. I would say... you hate me but you don't even know me. I don't even know why you led this attack. You have been cruel to me, cruel to my family, to my mother. At that time, my mother was going to hospital every day.»

Khelif then paused to wipe away the tears before adding: «So I don't understand the behavior of people today. God is my guide, I am a practicing Muslim woman. I am a Muslim Arabic woman and I got through this moment. 'I hope I will be even stronger in the future and come back even more motivated.»

It's important to put in lights, that Trump has long criticized transgender people as part of his rallies and focused specifically on transgender athletes, using language about gender identity that is wrong and harmful. Transgender-related issues have become perhaps the biggest rallying call to Christian conservatives, more than abortion rights or same-sex marriage. That shift worries advocates who note transgender people are already disproportionately prone to stress, depression and suicidal behavior when forced to live as the sex they were assigned at birth. The former president has repeatedly mocked transgender people during his campaign, using this poor, innocent girl, as scapegoat and target to show HOW her really cares of women's spaces and rights - by bullying a young cisgender woman.

Source - video has been downloaded from muzammilvagozz on Threads

[Off-topic: Am I the only that finds Imane's eyes gorgeous? She looks stunning in light blue.]

More links:

- My previous post in which I spoke about all the harmful situation caused by mean rumors to Imane Khelif and other non-white athletes

- Imane Khelif spoke against cyberbullism

- Imane Khelif sues both JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberbullying her and spreading hate online

[ketrindoll]

Why these Olympics kinda sucked

Sure, I'm happy about my country's results. 4 medals, two of them silver, for a country of barely 3 million people is a massive achievement. I loved the opening ceremony too. I thought it blended French culture and Paris' past and present very well. Innovative country presentation was great too.

So, what am I on about when I say the Olympics sucked?

Well, they lacked the very thing that makes them Olympics - the ceremoniality of it all. And the closing ceremony above all proved to me that there's not a single camera director in France that couldn't be more successfully replaced by three racoons in a coat.

How, oh how, did they manage to miss some countries in the closing ceremony's flag parade while showing others 5+ times?? The flagbearers - people chosen by each country as representatives - got ignored. I never got to see Dominika Banevič (Bgirl Nicka), our 17yo silver-medalist carry our flag, because camera crew focused more about showing Estonia 5 times from different angles. Turkey was also absent. Who carried their flag? Was it the epic shooter guy? Who knows, they were ignored by cameras and barely visible if you were to focus hard on the background.

But that's not all. The medal award ceremonies, the most awaited moments by viewers and athletes alike, were annoyingly lackluster. Not only did they came after a significant gap (for ads or whatever), but featured no national anthems. The whole process seemed more like the handing of a high school talent show participation award, than an Olympic medal ceremony. Rushed, unceremonial, and disappointingly bland.

So, while Paris organized a lovely event with showstopping performances and creative decisions, in the end that lack of traditional ceremonial processes made the whole thing seem a bit... meh?? I still remember the London Olympics, but will Paris ones be worth a mention a year from now?

In attempt to impress global audiences with Gojira and Tom Cruise, with boats in Seine and competitions in Versailles, the French missed the most important moments - the only moments we all tuned in to see.

Taking the lyrics of Imagine a bit too literally, they forgot that Olympics are above all the competition of countries. And those countries want, in light of rare victories, feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. Something that is not represented on-screen when medals are hanged on necks in a rushed manner and the closing ceremony skips some nations altogether. In making a performance, France missed out on substance. While showing innovation, they forgot tradition. When dazzling the crowds with glitter and glamour, they forgot the things that truly matter.

And in doing so they missed a chance to make these Olympics truly special.

[houseofbrat]

Well, isn't that convenient?

[archive link]

Princess Kate is eyeing up her next public appearance, as she’s keen to head to Paris to watch some of the 2024 Olympic Games. The Princess of Wales has made two major appearances since her shock cancer diagnosis at the start of the year, stepping out at Trooping the Colour in June and the Men’s Singles Final at Wimbledon a month later. Kensington Palace has not set a date for her to return to royal duties, as Kate revealed in June that while she continues to undergo chemotherapy she has “good days and bad days”. But she wants to make the most of feeling well and endeavours to attend events over the coming months if she feels able to. One such event is attending the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as a source close to the princess reveals she is keen to travel across the Channel to watch some of the action. “The Princess would love to go to the Olympics," they said. "She has such fond memories of London 2012 and is keen to go to another Games while it's so close to home.” The newly-wed couple were regular faces at the home Games, as they were jubilant when Chris Hoy secured his sixth Olympic gold at the velodrome and also enjoyed watching the tennis, hockey, swimming, athletics, gymnastics and football. But the insider was keen to stress that no decision has yet been made as Kate’s attendance is conditional on her health and whether her doctors give her the go-ahead. This mirrors the approach taken when the Princess attended the Wimbledon men’s final last month, as aides only confirmed her appearance the day before. Prince William is expected to travel to France to watch some of the Games next week, and as his children are currently enjoying their summer holidays its likely that their two eldest, Prince George, 11, and Princess Charlotte, nine, will join him.

Yes, it's not confirmed at this point (02 August 2024) that Kate will attend the Olympics, and, yes, this is published by a UK tabloid. However, the effects are just the same.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't pan out, and she doesn't attend. The perception of her right now is that she would do something like this, even though she is allegedly being treated for cancer.

Did you know that there is a subreddit called "KateMiddletonMissing"? It has 7,400 members currently, which is undoubtedly a larger number than the surviving Wales "fandom" on tumblr. Numbers that will likely increase over the coming weeks and months while Kate hides from the public. There is a thread discussing this rumor of Kate attending the Paris Olympics, and people aren't buying what Kensington Palace and Kate are selling, even if she has no actual plans to attend.

And what is the top comment in this thread?

"I don’t believe she ever had cancer"

That's the top comment. That's the perception of Kate among people who follow British royals enough to join a subreddit but are not blind followers of the drivel coming out of the Kensington Palace comms team.

And take photos of all the family frolicking on the beach jumping 8 foot over spiky plants. But too ill to partake in any cancer charity work. Hmm 🤔

I'm kind of hoping the French play Gojira's song about Marie Antoinette on the big screen while Kate and/or William is at the Olympics. They're really shameless to claim abdominal surgery in January to skip work until Easter, but then changed it to cancer when things got heated. Now they're playing the cancer card, cherry-picking glamour events, and putting it down as 'work'. Instead of helping cancer patients and creating awareness about testing and getting symptoms checked, Kate has only showed up at the Trooping, the Wimbledon men's final, and now possibly another men's tennis match featuring Andy Murray. These are not decent people.

She's crap like the rest of them. You'll never convince me she ever had cancer.

This is absolutely bonkers. No one cares about the optics of this, which is wild to me. Is the, "They're Diana's boys, such a tragedy," well of sympathy and sycophants ever going to run dry??? Kate being adjacent to this and a direct recipient of it.

Watching tennis on the royal box, sunbathing in mustique and not giving a ficking damn about not working for anything is a well known treatment for cancer.

My opinion only. Kate is totally complicit in all of this. I don't see how she's under duress or in any way being forced to tell the world she has/had cancer. She shows up at two major events looking fully healthy and smiling. Quite a contrast from the "bench video" where she looked pale and spoke in a somber tone. I believe that was also the one and only time that she has said anything about others having cancer. It just doesn't look good at all and seems disrespectful to those struggling with cancer.

Even in the much larger RoyalsGossip subreddit, which forbids any speculation on Kate's "health condition," has comments in disbelief about Kate's "cancer diagnosis."

Impressive that her medical team is okay with her attending crowded sporting events during treatment but recording a short Zoom video for a patronage is too much to handle

And especially now that there’s a spike in Covid cases. I know sick people who are not allowed to go to crowded places.

Interesting that's she is well enough to travel to Paris but not to do zoom calls eith her patronages? Or support her charitable endeavors? What about the First Five Years?

They don't call her "Duchess Do Little" for nothing

So she still can’t do any real work but can attend men’s sporting events. We see you Kate

It's really only the Wales fandom who buys the "health condition" excuse about Kate coming out of Kensington Palace.

Oh, yes Charles and Camilla "are wearing down the monarchy." LOL!

Charles and Camilla are doing their actual jobs while William is on vacation all the time.

Just more proof that the Wales fandom lives in their own Disney-esque Puritan bubble where Charles & Camilla are terrible because their first marriages didn't work out. Except even Camilla has done more work than William ever has as a working royal.

Except actual Brits (instead of fawning twenty-somethings in Latin America) believe William is the one "wearing down the monarchy."

Because more and more people are not buying the story Will & Kate have been telling people about themselves.

Most people with functioning brains outside the Wales fandom can see through Will & Kate's problematic behavior.

Looks like the shit is going to hit the fan regarding Will & Kate's reputations later this month.

Can't wait.

[shadoedseptmbr]

Since you apparently followed some Olympics, I have a question about that. Are Olympics something big in the states? Like, something culturally important? (besides winning medals, you did great about that) I can never tell, with how big college sports is and stuff like baseball and others, if things like the Olympics are "as big" in the states as well? Like, here it's broadcasted all day long on the biggest national TV stations and such. Not everyone will care, but it's pretty big. (and Paris did great with it, alas now the French hunger games will continue, or maybe the break also included the paralympics hopefully....)

hmm

i will say *yes* we do follow it. one of our major tv networks (we don't have a national network) bids for it, this year it was NBC, and for the full two weeks (depending on the difference in time zone) rebroadcasts the more popular sports (gymnastics, basketball, swimming, the track and field events) here for "prime time:" 6:30 PM to 10 PM (1800 to 2200) and then after the evening news for highlights, interviews, and less popular sports and for a few hours at a time during the day all weekend. This year, there was full coverage on NBC's premium pay network and online.

Most local news show medal counts and do "this athlete in this sport you only hear about every four years is from here" specials. There's always a lot of talk about the athletes that are from the bigger university "oh these college rivals are teammates, now." The men's basketball team gets A LOT of coverage because it's all the stars of the game playing together.

The big newspapers do medal counts and the sports sections are full of articles, usually there's something on the front page as well. Magazines get put out, medalists get covers of the bigger news and sports magazines. We have a nationally carried cereal brand called "Wheaties" that loves to put the athletes on the box. Coca Cola always has a broad swathe of the advertising and sells "olympic special cases and cans"

This year seemed like better coverage, the venue, and interesting competition made for more people talking about it than i've seen in a while. What usually comes up is the "okay for two weeks i'm patriotic" people who aren't sports people and "i have a lot of opinions about this sport i've only been watching for five minutes." wE love the underdog stories, we love when smaller countries do well, we like to beat certain countries just for the fun of the rivalries (the Australians in swimming, for instance) so yeah, It's a pretty big deal and, at its best, when we let it, it brings us together a little.

[youarebeingshaggedbyarareparrot]

Worse things happen at sea: Art in the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony

So everyone has been sounding off about the Paris' Olympic Opening Ceremony. Mainly about the supposed 'insult to Christians everywhere' with the recreation of Di Vinci's 'The Last Supper'.

(I'd like to go on the record that 1. you pose any group of folk in a line facing the viewer with a barrier at hip height and it's gonna look a little 'The Last Supper'-y, 2. clearly the hand wringers had forgotten that the artist was Di Vinci. The man would be pointing and laughing at them and be living it up on that bridge between Nicky Doll and DJ Butch, and 3. Da Vinci painted enough portraits of Bacchus, he would have known what's up.)

Anyway, a lot of art was incorporated and celebrated but there's one piece that did featured that had me performing a mental emergency stop and NO ONE ELSE is talking about it so I need to know I wasn't the only one to spot this.

So, opening ceremony, we're following our mysterious torch bearer as they race through the the Louvre to the strains of 'Danse macabre', (French composer Camille Saint-Saëns). The eyes of the paintings occupants follow their progress until we see frames with empty back drops, the paintings' subjects having come alive to watch the festivities from the windows. But the last empty frame... my people...

Our mystery guide stands in front of this for nearly 3 seconds, at the 1hr 42min 11sec mark in the BBC coverage. Now, I can't make out the plaque at the bottom of the frame, but I am prepared to place good money that this is Théodore Géricault's 'Le Radeau de la Méduse', or 'The Raft of the Medusa'.

Completed in 1819, this piece is considered the best work of its' French artist and an icon of the French Romanticism movement. It's chuffing huge, over 16ft by 23ft, and it is stunning.

It also depicts one of the worst events in French maritime history.

In June of 1816, the French frigate The Medusa left France for Senegal on the west coast of Africa. At her helm was a captain who had not sailed in 20 odd years and got the post through connections and political clout. And he fucked it up royally. The Medusa drifted 100 miles off course and ran aground off Mauritania. After 3 days of failing to shift the boat, the 400 or so people aboard has choices to make. They were 30 miles from land and there were 6 boats, room for 250 people. Some stayed aboard the stranded vessel but at least 146 men and one woman boarded a jerry-rigged raft. The plan was for it to be towed by some of the boats, but after only a few miles it was turned loose.

For 13 days, exposure, mutiny, disease, dehydration and starvation ravaged the survivors, whittling nearly 150 down to 15. It was in my fact checking for this that I learnt the lovely little term ‘a custom of the sea’. In layman’s terms, cannibalising your crew mates to survive. They were spotted by chance, no search effort had been made by the French. A further 5 died in the days following rescue. British naval officers helped the survivors to return to France because aid from the French government didn’t appear and the captain, who had made it to land fine, was more interested in recovering the gold on board the Medusa. He was court marshalled and should have been executed, but in the end served 3 years in prison. He was the inciting incident for a law to passed that ensured that promotions in the French military would thereafter be based on merit.

Now all this came hurtling into my head because I remember reading a book called 'Severed' by Frances Larson, all about the cultural and historical fascination with decapitation. There's a section in the chapter of severed heads in art about how Géricault went hard on the research for this painting; visited morgues and hospitals, brought home specimens to watch decay rate, y'know, stuff that absolutely wouldn't blow your safety deposit. But yeah, I'm there with dawning horror and ice in my blood as we look at a very French painting, of a French maritime tragedy, brought about by the hubris and arrogance and incompetence of the higher ups who had no right being there, where comrades and crew turn on each other in a horrific fight for survival, with the spooky dancing bones classical piece playing in the background...

And not 20 seconds later we are rejoining the action of the flotilla on the Seine, 'Fraternité' writ large over the boat with Cyprus, Columbia and Comoros waving excitedly and soggily at us.

Thomas Jolly, opening ceremony artistic director, I need to buy you a drink and we need to chat. I need to study you. I have been turning this over in my brain for a week, what are you trying to say?! Was I the only one to hear it?!

[imaswellkid]

I really tried to not bother you with this but ( I could't control myself anymore) as a french girl how did you feel about Gojira on the Olympics? And on a scale of 5 how irritating is it to be in Paris during the games? Because I'm imagining parisians huffing and puffing over their croissants daily because of it.

Hey Nonnie 🧡

You are NOT bothering me at all!! Not in the slightest! I woke up to your ask and it made me smile and chuckle, thank you 🧡

Of course I can only talk for myself, but everyone I talked to about it felt insanely proud about Gojira's performance!!! Even amongst those of my friends or coworkers who are not into metal, and didn't know the band before its opening ceremony performance, everyone was THRILLED and thought it was pretty neat! Which says a lot about how the people around me feel about the French Revolution, heehee: OFF WITH THEIR HEADS 😌

Unfortunately, we still have royalists (and even Napoleon partisans, if you can believe this shit). Those were NOT pleased, social media demonstrated. Given the current political divide of our country, the fact that these people got pissed gave Gojira's number some extra nice flavour.

Deep down, it makes me a little sad that it triggered such violent reactions from the conservative crowds. I was 10 in 1989, when the country celebrated the Revolution's bicentennial. I wasn't living in Paris back then (Paris and the rest of France are two different things. I say that without any judgement, anyone will tell you so. Also, I feel 99% Parisian but I grew up in the South of France, where my family still lives), and what I remember is a year of happy, uniting celebrations. But we didn't have social media back then.

I'm sorry I'm so chatty, I'll try wrapping it up. Being in Paris right now is exactly the opposite of what I expected: not irritating AT ALL! The city is virtually empty. Everyone is either gone or attending the games. Don't get me wrong, it has been. A lot. The city was under construction work for the best part of the past 3/4 years, so Parisians did spend this whole time huffing and puffing over their croissants daily because of it, as you so very accurately put it, only to rally the minute the opening ceremony started (which is such a French reaction: complain first, rally later). We are very proud of the way Paris was pictured. I cannot stress that enough. Plus France won so many more medals than usual, and at the end of the day, we are a very chauvinistic people ("chauvin" in French means "proud of one's country", without the negative connotation that the word "chauvinistic" can have in English).

I'll end this essay (I'm so sorry, I don't know concision) with this poster I saw the other day. It's a pun on "Flamme Olympique" (Olympic Flame) and "Flemme Olympique (Olympic laziness ehehehe)

[lil-gingerbread-queen]

I'm losing my fucking mind.

In the last years, my university has been tagged multiple times with racist and neo-nazi symbols. The local of our union against racism and pro lgbtq+ was destroyed multiple times. Nothing was done, but a bit of paint to cover it up. No investigation. No punishment. And when I vocalised my discomfort, I was told it was nothing, just "immature young people trying to get attention".

Last year, the prefect of Paris authorized a Neo-Nazis' protest. Neo-Nazis walked in Paris, freely, as if it's not illegal to express racism or nazi rhetoric in this country. People weren't happy, so the prefete said it would not happen again.

Well, for the 21st of April, multiple protests against racism were organized all around France, and, they were not authorized by the authorities. The same prefect that let, a year ago, Neo-Nazis in the street of Paris, refused to let a protest against racism walk those same streets. He said "It's antisemitic. They support Palestine, they are antisemitic.". Yeah, take us for idiots, the protest against racism is going to be too antisemitic but not the Neo-Nazis you let walk around (and we know he would do it again).

And now, we have Sciences Po, one of the most reputable universities in our country, joining the movement the USAmerican students have started. The Sorbonne, another reputable university, followed. The French gov and media cried about it, called them "terrorists", "uneducated", "revolutionaries" (this one is crazy and really shows the fascism behind it all. We are in France, being revolutionary is NOT a bad thing in our culture. Wtf would you use "revolutionary" negatively in France, unless you are an oppressor?!!!) Students who are calling for the end of Genocide and just sitting on the ground! The cops were sent and dragged them out. For information, the cops CANNOT intervene in an university in France without the authorization of the president of this university. Not even the gov can make the cops enter an university, it's illegal. When students protest inside an university, people don't like seeing the cops being send after them. Two reasons: 1- students have often protest and help for the quality of life of everyone in French history, 2- WWII's trauma, Nazis stormed French universities because they were hiding Jews and resistants. Like, they are straight up acting like the Nazis, again. And the city of Paris wants to cut the budget they give to those two universities to punish them for not keeping their students in line. So, freedom of speech? GONE.

Students are protesting against a massacre, and they are calling them antisemitic. People standing against racism is antisemitic. But not the people branding Neo-Nazi symbols and chanting Neo-Nazi slogans. They don't move if you are branding a swastika, which is illegal, but will if you are branding Palestine's flag, which is not (yet). They let a political party founded with a SS go around and act nice, but the ones asking for the end of a massacre are the Nazis. Make sense.

So, I'm fucking pissed. I'm fucking pissed because I was told to "calm down" when I couldn't stand the antisemitism paint on my university, when I couldn't stand being friendly with the students that did or support that (because I did meet one). I was told to ignore antisemitism and I refused, and now, they call me antisemitic for standing with Palestinians?! How dare they when they tried to gaslight me so I would ignore the antisemitism in front of me?!

They don't care about jewish people! It's not about jewish people or the jewish faith, it's about white supremacy!

The people have already planned to protest during the Olympic Games, because the French gov is going full fascism lately (everyday, we wake up to more bs), and I hope with all my heart that we ruin the event at least (which would harm them financially), and at best, we get rid of the government and this 5th republic.

[zoeysdamn]

10 tips if you're going to see the 2024 Olympics in Paris and/or visit the Louvre museum

As a French I get the reminder everyday that the Olympic Games are taking place in Paris this year ; and let me tell you that I do not care the slightest (mostly because I don't live even close to Paris myself). But maybe some of you are going to see the Games, and I feel like I should give you some tips to survive in the capital. And given that I worked at the Louvre museum for a few years, I added tips for you if you want to visit it as well during your stay.

Parisian people are rude af most of the time (French people are, in my opinion, but even as a Frenchie myself, people in Paris are usually the worst). Don't expect smiles at every shop, counter or street. You're not the problem, don't take it personally (but don't feed the stereotypes like in Emily in Paris either, they'll burn you on the spot).

Don't expect everyone to speak English ; they'll also might get mad that YOU don't speak French. (my people are assholes okay, I'm sorry) (ofc I'm generalizing, but better safe than sorry)

Don't EVER buy a subway (or museum) ticket from a stranger. You'll most likely pay for an overpriced and/or already used ticket. Always buy your tickets from official counters. Also, there are a lot of pickpockets, especially in the subway, so be very careful (never hold a phone in your hand in the streets)

Police officers aren't going to be your friends. First of all, they rarely are, and second, it's gonna be a very tense event. If you "only" have a question, they'll probably be rude.

French people usually eat from around 11.30 am-13 pm. If you don't want to be in the lunch rush in takeout restaurants or boulangeries, I'd advise you to buy your lunch in advance, in the morning; but not too early to have a choice. Try buying your lunch between 9 and 10 am.

The Louvre museum:

Make an online reservation for your tickets; you'll get in faster (you'll still have to wait of course, but it's a bit faster).

Take. A. Map. Of. The. Museum. Of course, there are surveillance agents to help you if you're lost, but trust me the museum is a big ass building, even if you're great at orienting yourself, you'll need a map.

Try to avoid going to the Louvre on Mondays; the Orsay Museum and Palace of Versailles are both closed on those days, so there are more people at the Louvre.

Don't hesitate to reach out to the museum staff in the rooms! (people dressed in black, with a badge). They are here to help you and answer your questions, and unlike what I said before, they're usually really kind! Most of them are students on their summer jobs, they're kind and fun to have a chat with! (yes they were my colleagues I'm gonna defend them krkrkr)

Even if I find the Mona Lisa overrated as fuck, I get that you want to see her; so try to see her first when you visit the museum, then go to less crowded sections. Here are some amazing ones, less famous that I can suggest: the Michelangelo section, the Islamic arts (one of my fave, the rooms are really amazing), Dutch paintings, and the inner courts with statues. Give them a look, I promise it's worth it.

Bonus: if you're from Europe and under 26, the entrance is free in the Louvre, and in most of the Parisian museums.

Hope it's useful, and my fellow French baguettes, don't hesitate to add your tips, oui oui

(let me know if you want more tips on visiting the Louvre Museum !)

[beardedmrbean]

Yet another year of Bastille Day fireworks

Heya ! This one is probably going to be a bit longer than other years so I'm writing it as a submission instead of an ask.

This year's festivities are brought to you by the city of Oissel. Since I'm back from Paris, I was gonna go watch the one in Sotteville-les-Rouen, my all-time favorite, but my sister offered to pay for dinner if the rest of the family went with her, and, well... the ribs were great. She claims the fireworks in Oissel are renowned throughout the country, I call BS, but we'll see.

Bit sad I couldn't watch the one in Sotteville since this year they chose "Girl Power" as a theme. Considering their past failure at making a french flag, I wanted to see what a "Grill Power" themed firework show would look like 😂

The children of Oissel made an anthem for the city to be played before the show started. I'd rate it a 6 for effort. The lyrics are on point, but it's a bit bland and nondescript, and from a music theory standpoint it's as easy as can be. No syncopation, irregular time, swing rhythm, triplets, nothing, it was as bare-bones as an anthem can be. But hey, they say it was 100% made by the children, so I won't be too harsh.

And of course, the "Hey, remember the Olympics ???" speech before the show. Can't say I didn't expect it.

Alright, the fireworks are starting, so from here on out these are my post-show impressions :

Can't believe it's been a year since I said I wanted to fly a plane and I haven't done much towards that goal. I think every Bastille Day is gonna be my yearly "Have I learned to fly a plane yet ?" checkup.

Shit I missed the steam sale.

Nice use of colors. Orange and purple, cyan-green-yellow, and of course the right shades of blue, white, and red. Straight As on that one. They also had colored lights on the ground and floodlights pointed at the sky to color the smoke, which is a nice touch. I couldn't help but be reminded of the bisexual lighting meme from a few years ago, though.

Back outside of Paris, and the songs are mostly in english, call that confirmation bias but I think the parisians are patriotism georg. We've had "Jump" by Van Halen, "We are the Champions", "The Final Countdown", all straight bangers. Not a single french song, even Freddy Mercury's "Barcelona", but that's okay I'm not very patriotic either so that cancels out nicely.

The fluid dynamics of a crowd leaving through a very small gate seem very interesting to study. It's like they have negative viscosity, the closer you are to the wall the faster you move. There's even a hole because people are coming from two different directions at once ! That's awesome ! I am SO falling into a rabbit hole when I get home and google this.

Turns out it was so crowded because there's a single stall right outside, making a queue and blocking the flow of people. I do wish I could grab a bite to eat after this, but that's the only stall, there's at least fifty people waiting there, and there's nay a McDonald's around like last year in Paris, so that'll have to wait. The demand for post-fireworks snacks is probably so elastic you could fit a raccoon through it.

Overall, that was some good fireworks. They seem to know their stuff better than the guys in Sotteville, but I kinda miss the obvious mistakes I can point at and laugh. And the readily available snacks around. ________________

Submitted by @givrally

I got sidetracked with the attempted assassination thing, sorry back to you now.

I can think of tons of ways that a girl power theme could go wrong, gotta invite the Spice Girls if you want it to be sure to go right.

I would have loved to have heard the song from the children, kids can be so creative, can't be any weirder than Stravinsky's Rite of Spring anyhow.

We've got a distraction here on the Olympics for a bit, but they'll be back.

you'll get your flying in, you're still young

same here, computer crapped out and over the course of 2 week I finally ran out of energy to try and bring it back to life and got a new one

Must be nice to see colours like that, I being colourblind is hard to explain though

Venturi effect

"The demand for post-fireworks snacks is probably so elastic you could fit a raccoon through it."

I don't know what this means but I'm going to start using it regardless

this was a wonderful breakdown and while I agree the reporting on the mess ups and the thing a couple years ago where y'all had the the US flag involved with Springsteen and Cotton Eyed Joe.

If I ever have the means I'm going to have to find my way up that way for a Bastille Day celebration, they sound like a hoot.