France bids final farewell to Olympics with Champs-Elysees parade

PARIS: France bid a final and reluctant farewell to the Paris Olympics on Saturday (Sep 14) with a parade on the Champs-Elysees followed by a concert featuring artists from the opening and closing ceremonies.

The final event of an acclaimed summer of sport saw tens of thousands of fans gather on the French capital's most famous avenue to applaud and cheer the nation's new sporting heroes. 

Around 70,000 people gathered for the parade featuring athletes, volunteers and public sector workers, which was followed by a multi-artist concert on a spectacular stage around the Arc de Triomphe.

"Saying thanks, not just to the athletes but to everyone who made these games magic, I think it's fabulous," said France's most decorated track athlete, Marie-Jose Perec, who lit the cauldron at the start of the Games on July 26.

"It's a beautiful way of saying goodbye because everything must come to an end and tonight it will all be over," the visibly emotional 200m and 400m triple gold medallist told reporters as she arrived. 

Around 4,000 police were called out for a final test, having won almost unanimous praise for the way they kept around 12 million ticket holders for the Olympics and Paralympics safe.

After months of gloom and self-doubt in the run-up to the start of the Olympics, Parisians and the country at large threw themselves into the spirit of the Games once the sport began.

They embraced new champions such as triple gold medal-winning swimmer Leon Marchand while finding fresh reasons to celebrate veterans such as judoka Teddy Riner who won his fourth Olympic title.

"Thank you, thank you, it's been incredible!" Riner shouted to the cheering crowd.

He, Marchand and Rugby Sevens star Antoine Dupont were among more than 100 French medal