If I were a city, I almost certainly would not want to host the Olympics. So my thought last summer was that I would put my Paris apartment on Airbnb for an outrageous sum of money and leave the city – until friends from the US persuaded me to put them up for the duration of the Games. As the opening ceremony draws closer, I wonder if my initial reflex was too pessimistic.
Last week, as I stood along the Canal Saint-Martin as the Olympic flame passed by, I felt excitement finally creep in. And now I wonder whether other Parisians are feeling the same transformation take place.
