They had one goal: to take enough medals to be among the Games’ top five Olympic and top eight Paralympic nations. He was putting pressure on them, he said this month – previously described as “healthy pressure” – but the goal was “absolutely attainable”. The economics magazine Challenges reported Macron as going further, saying: “The success of these Olympic Games depends first and foremost on the success of our athletes.”
It was the French president in full Jupiterian mode – his nickname is the all-powerful, all-controlling Roman god – suggesting that, in sport as in politics, almost anything is possible with enough effort. The subtext was clear: it was not enough for the nation’s Olympians to be taking part; what would count was winning.
Sceptics pointed out that France had not reached the medals table top five since the 1948 London Olympics when it came third, but at a time when there were fewer top-level sporting nations. The sports data firm Gracenote backed Macron and predicted France would enjoy the traditional advantage of hosting the Games and take 55 medals, reaching fourth place.
Political pundits saw the national “how-many-medals” guessing game Macron had sparked as part of an Élysée operation to inject much-needed interest into the Olympics among a public that has, until now, been at best apathetic, at worst hostile.
Denne historien er fra April 26, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra April 26, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
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Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
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A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate
All work and no play
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