The 2020 (2021) Olympic Games in Tokyo were good for Team France. Les Bleus ended the two weeks with a total of 33 médailles¹medals, putting l’équipe de France²the French team 8th in the overall medal rankings³even though their total of 33 medals was fewer than other countries classé/ranked lower. Overall rankings as outlined here are based on the number of médailles d’or/gold medals, then argent/silver, et bronze.. But the Tokyo games are over and so now on to Paris … for 2024.

Photo by Atypeek Dgn from Pexels

France represents in Tokyo

In overall medal count, France’s 33 médailles puts them in 10th place. Les Bleus took the most medals in judo (8),escrime (5), and voile (3). They took gold in judo and escrime as well as 5 other sports (handball, volley-ball, aviron, karaté, et tir)⁴See the linked posts at the end of this blog for a review of French Olympic sports vocabulary for the summer and winter games.

After initially beating them in their first match, the French men’s basketball team ultimately lost to the US and won silver in basketball (the women’s team took bronze). See full results here or read more over at Le Parisien.

Paris 2024

With Tokyo in the history books, attention turns (for the summer games, at least) to Paris and 2024. The organizers have already been working hard and are hoping to make these next French games⁵France has previously hosted 5 Olympic Games (Summer 1900 – Paris, 1924 – Paris; Winter 1924 – Grenoble, 1968 – Chamonix, and 1992 – Albertville) the first carbon-neutral games.

One way that the organizers are planning to do this – and to keep costs down – is to make use of existing locations and keep construction to a minimum. “[I]maginer un terrain de beach-volley devant la tour Eiffel, ou encore l’esplanade des Invalides transformée en stand de tir-à-l’arc. …L’équitation se déroulera au château de Versailles”⁶Imagine a beach-volleyball court in front of the Eiffel Tower, or the esplanade of the Invalides transformed into an archery stand. … Horse riding will take place at Versailles.

Tony Estanguet, président du Comité d’organisation des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques de Paris-2024⁷President of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris-2024 says that these efforts – which will see events take place not just in Paris, but also have events in Marseille, in Lille, and even in Tahiti –  will “permet de diviser par deux les émissions carbone générées par ces Jeux”⁸Allow carbon emisssions to be cut in half while “mettre plus de sport dans le quotidien des Français” et “renforcer la place du sport dans la société“.⁹bringing more sport into the daily lives of the French and reinforcing the role of sport in society

A pop culture update

I was pleased to learn that the great French series Dix pour cent (Call my agent) is coming back for a fifth season and that there is a movie in the works. While both are still some time away, in the meantime you can catch series break out star Camille Cottin alongside Matt Damon in the new Marseille-based movie Stillwater.

Athletic Vocabulary – Olympic Sports In French

French Vocabulary – Winter Olympics Edition

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  medals
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  the French team
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  even though their total of 33 medals was fewer than other countries classé/ranked lower. Overall rankings as outlined here are based on the number of médailles d’or/gold medals, then argent/silver, et bronze.
• 4
  See the linked posts at the end of this blog for a review of French Olympic sports vocabulary for the summer and winter games.
• 5
  France has previously hosted 5 Olympic Games (Summer 1900 – Paris, 1924 – Paris; Winter 1924 – Grenoble, 1968 – Chamonix, and 1992 – Albertville)
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  Imagine a beach-volleyball court in front of the Eiffel Tower, or the esplanade of the Invalides transformed into an archery stand. … Horse riding will take place at Versailles.
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  President of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris-2024
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  Allow carbon emisssions to be cut in half
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  bringing more sport into the daily lives of the French and reinforcing the role of sport in society