Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe’s goals against Croatia in last Sunday’s 4-2 win in the World Cup final prompted massive public ecstasy as people flooded the streets all over France to celebrate Les Bleus‘ second trophy. Not only Paris, but Marseille and Lyon were awash with bleu, blanc et rouge on Sunday evening.
Those scenes were repeated in the capital on Monday as Didier Deschamps and his men triumphantly returned home from Russia to celebrate with their people before a date with president Emmanuel Macron.
Two hours before the squad was due to arrive by bus, as I made my way from Invalides to the foot of les Champs-Elysees in sweltering heat, masses of people were already flocking to Paris’ most iconic avenue. I realised how arduous the task of making my way up the crowd would be.
Next to le Grand Palais, I came across 27-year-old Alberic, who told me the scenes were “Incredible!”
“I was less than 10 years old when France last won the World Cup,” he said. “But I still remember everything about it — it is crazy to see these sorts of scenes around the Champs again.”
There was a festival atmosphere as I started my ascent. It was like being at Rock en Seine, the only difference being that the headline act this time was the French national team and not Johnny Hallyday (a French icon, though he never actually played at the festival).
Pockets of people were sitting on the floor, benches and pretty much any flat surface imaginable, while others were standing and craning to get a better view.
Those not fortunate enough to benefit from the views from offices and apartments lining the street took their pursuit so far that they climbed trees, scaffolding on nearby buildings, newspaper kiosks and the canapes of closed shops lining the street — much to the displeasure of security staff watching the buildings.
Some memories from Paris today 😍 #FRA #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/UiS9SAHh6i
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) July 16, 2018
#FRA #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/GRuUPEonfa
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) July 16, 2018