PARISIANS' NOD TO THE GAMES

Event gets thumbs up from residents, who revel in the 'amazing' experience

- Melvyn Teoh

Ahead of the Olympic Games from July 26 to Aug 11, Paris resident Nassim Foreix, who works in the hospitality industry as a project director, took her family out of the city for fear of the disruption that usually comes with a major sporting event boasting about 15 million spectators, including two million from abroad.

But as the capital warmly embraced the Games and their sporting heroes, she soon developed Fomo, or fear of missing out, and did not want to make the same mistake with the Paralympics from Aug 28 to Sept 8.

The 42-year-old said: "We missed the opportunity to watch the Olympics in July, but we were able to get tickets for the Paralympics, and I thought it was a good opportunity for the kids to see it but it was quite expensive to come as a family.

"Paris has been amazing (during the Games), everything's been super well organised, and it's a wonderful city to walk and see during and after the Olympics."

Admitting that she regretted leaving Paris to go on their summer holiday, Foreix said: "During the Olympics, a lot of Parisians, including me, left Paris but it was wrong, and we actually regretted it.

"A lot of us got tickets at the last minute because we realised that it was very well organised and it had a big hit on tourism here."