The River Seine was at last clean enough for the triathletes to swim in, stadiums were full, fan zones were packed, the gold medals were rolling in, TV viewing figures were rocketing and a kind of sporting party-fever gripped the city-centre streets.
The first week of the Paris Olympics sprinkled its stardust over the hitherto grim public mood of deep political division, and the Games even appeared to have pushed to the back of many people’s minds the fact France had no new government after its recent snap parliament elections.
