{"id":20729,"date":"2024-08-05T09:15:33","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T09:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/olympic-swimmer-inspires-french-unity-but-for-how-long\/"},"modified":"2024-08-05T09:15:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T09:15:34","slug":"olympic-swimmer-inspires-french-unity-but-for-how-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/olympic-swimmer-inspires-french-unity-but-for-how-long\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympic swimmer inspires French unity \u2013 but for how long?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"ReutersReuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Marchand is already the most-decorated French competitor at a single Games<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Swimming sensation L\u00e9on Marchand appears to have inspired a little of the French ideal of “fraternit\u00e9” that may have felt in short supply in the host nation during a time of sharp recent political division.<\/p>\n

He was again cheered on by a home crowd in Sunday’s 4 x 100m medley relay, in which he and his teammates won bronze after briefly leading the contest.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old has won four golds at the Games – more than any other French competitor at a single Olympics – and has been compared with American legend Michael Phelps.<\/p>\n

More fanciful is an idea floated by political cartoonists and social media users, who joke that Marchand should be chosen as prime minister following last month’s bitterly-contested snap election, in which a left-wing coalition ultimately prevailed over the far-right.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The gags show that France is looking to \u201claud someone who seems so dedicated and sincere in his sport, and way of life\u201d, explained Andrew Hussey, a historian of French culture, who added that many saw Marchand as representing a contrast to the country\u2019s politicians.<\/p>\n

The athlete’s heroics were proving a welcome distraction during the crisis, said Parisians lounging on the grass in one of the city\u2019s parks, watching the sporting action on a big screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to think about the problems,\u201d said a woman named Thanh. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to think about the division in the country.\u201d The swimmer had helped to \u201csmooth everything\u201d.<\/p>\n

Louis agreed: \u201cWhen Marchand was racing, it was the most important thing for the country for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Three<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Thanh (left, with friend Anne-Sophie and daughter Thanh) said Marchand was a welcome distraction<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Politics seem to be largely on hold for the Games, after President Emmanuel Macron said negotiations over the formation of a new government would have to wait until after the Paralympics.<\/p>\n

Mr Macron is among those who have been to roar on Marchand in person. On Friday night, the arena was filled with deafening roars of \u201callez\u201d (\u201cgo\u201d) each time the golden boy\u2019s swimming cap bobbed above water as he powered to glory in the 200m medley.<\/p>\n

But anyone seriously hoping that Marchand will stick his head above the political parapet looks likely to be disappointed.<\/p>\n

The swimmer, who trains in the US, has avoided wading into public debate. That contrasts with another national hero, football star Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, who memorably used a Euro 2024 press conference<\/a> to urge a vote against the far-right.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Australian Cathy Freeman became another home hero during the Sydney Olympics in 2000<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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The tradition of a population galvanising around a hero is as old as the Games itself, according to Philip Barker, the editor of the Journal of Olympic History.<\/p>\n

Some host nations’ sporting heroes have inspired lasting change, Barker said. <\/p>\n

He cited Cathy Freeman, an Aboriginal runner who celebrated her 400m sprint win in Syndey in 2000 with the Australian and Aboriginal flags, as prompting an spirit of inclusivity from Australians towards the indigenous population “that hadn’t really existed before”.<\/p>\n

During the 2012 Games in London, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah were lionised after bagging a quick flurry of golds in what was quickly dubbed \u201csuper Saturday\u201d.<\/p>\n

But the UK\u2019s \u201cgolden era\u201d of solidarity was fairly short-lived, Barker said, pointing to the political divisions that characterised the Scottish independence and Brexit referendums in the following years.<\/p>\n

One specialist in contemporary French politics agreed that the unifying effect of Marchand and his fellow French medallists was unlikely to last for long.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can expect an immediate return to a fractured political field and a disgruntled electorate as soon as the Games are over,\u201d said Emile Chabal, a professor of contemporary history at the University of Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo amount of Marchand-mania – and we’ve seen this before with great French sporting stars like [Zinedine] Zidane or Mbapp\u00e9 – will stop that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fans unable to watch Marchand in person have glued themselves to screens elsewhere in Paris<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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But for the last week, Marchand\u2019s compatriots have been glued to his exploits \u2013 so much so that even those who have paid good money for Olympic tickets have spent some of those events watching his races on their phones.<\/p>\n

That applied to one Parisian in the fan park, Audrey, who admitted she had torn her eyes away from a volleyball match to witness Marchand claim one of his golds on her screen.<\/p>\n

Although France had found a new hero, it was possible that \u201cmaybe next week there will be another Marchand\u201d, Audrey pointed out. And at any rate, Marchand was just a part of something bigger.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about him,\u201d she said, citing the \u201camazing\u201d opening ceremony.<\/p>\n

France should be \u201cvery proud about what we are showing to the world\u201d with the Olympics, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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Reuters Marchand is already the most-decorated French competitor at a single Games Swimming sensation L\u00e9on Marchand appears to have inspired a little of the French ideal of “fraternit\u00e9” that may have felt in short supply in the host nation during a time of sharp recent political division. He was again cheered on by a home […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20729"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20729"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20731,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20729\/revisions\/20731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}