In a park by the canal edge in Saint-Denis, Laken Lima sat in a deckchair at an Olympic fan zone watching the taekwondo on a big screen, as tourists and locals mingled in a party atmosphere in this banlieue town on Paris’s northern border.
“I’ve been so pleasantly surprised by the Olympics,” said the 38-year-old local health coach. “It has been magical, we’ve been blown away.” Lima was one of more than 4.5 million people who have flocked to watch giant screens at fan zones and free community events across France over the past two weeks as the country hails these Games as a monumental success.
