‘Unique’ and ‘amazing’: Paris Olympics opening ceremony dazzles spectators
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00:00Yes, clearly, I was there yesterday and there are two words that are coming back, unique
00:05and amazing.
00:06It was unique by its character because it was a ceremony within the city, on the river,
00:12first time ever.
00:13And it was amazing by the show that France presented, actually, Thomas Joly, the director
00:20of the ceremony, he decided to show all aspects of France from his story with Marie Antoinette,
00:28the queen who was beheaded, to today's France with its diversity and the LGBT scene.
00:35So we had the wall of France in one ceremony, open to the world and addressing the world.
00:41And it ended with that emotional performance from Céline Dion.
00:44There was a lot of speculation about who was likely to appear.
00:48Were there any real surprises for you or did you have any particular highlights?
00:52Well, it was not a surprise because everybody expected Céline Dion to conclude the show
00:58and to conclude it with the hymn of love from Edith Piaf.
01:01But the fact that she was there at the Eiffel Tower, which was, by the way, the real queen
01:07of the ceremony, imagine this ceremony without the Eiffel Tower.
01:11You couldn't think of it.
01:13It was around for the Eiffel Tower.
01:15She was the grand lady of the ceremony.
01:18And Céline Dion, by singing on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, paid tribute to
01:24Paris, paid tribute to the Eiffel Tower.
01:26But we had also Lady Gaga singing a song from Zizi Jean-Maire, Mon Truc en Plume, which
01:31is typical cabaret Paris.
01:34And we had also Aya Nakamura.
01:36And the very good idea was to mix Aya Nakamura with the Republican Guard, you know, the orchestra
01:43from the Republican Guard.
01:44And you could see those guys, those military soldiers, singing and dancing with Aya Nakamura,
01:50who concluded her own show by saluting the troops.
01:53And that is something.
01:55Yeah, as you kind of pointed out, it included a lot of history and tradition, but also really
01:59mixed in a more modern, diverse, inclusive vision of France.
02:03What do you think the ceremony as a whole kind of says about how France currently sees
02:07itself in its own identity?
02:09Well, that's a personal opinion, but I do think that the director wanted to show France,
02:16which is proud of itself, proud of its republic, proud of its diversity, and not shy about
02:24some of the excesses, for example, the LGBT scene that I was describing.
02:30Some people, some viewers around the world, one billion viewers, may have been shocked.
02:35But this is France.
02:36The same from the face of Queen Marie Antoinette, who was beheaded, shown by the conciergerie,
02:42which was the jail where she spent the last days of her life.
02:45It could provoke, it could be seen by part of the world as provocative.
02:50But this is the French history as well.
02:52And we had this guy, the guy that we show now, the guy with a mask who was going through
02:57the roof of Paris with the torch until the moment he gave it to Zinedine Zidane.
03:03Was he Arsène Lupin?
03:04Was he the Iron Mask?
03:06We will never know.
03:07It's part of France's mystery and Paris's mystery.
03:10Yeah, I was thinking maybe he could even represent Daft Punk.
03:13That's correct.
03:14Are there any negative reactions that you've been hearing, maybe from within France or
03:18from abroad?
03:21Well, no negative reactions so far.
03:23Nothing that I could read which was very negative, except in France from the extreme right, ultra
03:30conservative kind part of the population and part of the media, which found some part of
03:36the show a bit too provocative.
03:38I'm thinking especially of this part when singer Philippe Catrin came up out nearly
03:44naked in blue playing the god Dionysus.
03:48That was probably the part that hinted some provocation.
03:52But otherwise, everybody applauded.
03:55Everybody applauded because this is the type of risk that the French love to take.
04:00They risk their reputation on a grand show, on a grand ambition, a grand ideas.
04:07This is typical France.
04:09Sometime rather than having a normal ceremony, something rational, they prefer something
04:14completely crazy.
04:16And that craziness match the Republic and match the world.
04:20And just finally, there has been a lot of grumbling ahead of the ceremony here in France
04:23about security restrictions, transportation disruptions.
04:26It also comes in the middle of a very fraught political time.
04:30Do you think that the opening ceremony in the Olympics itself is going to sort of succeed
04:34in lifting the national mood?
04:36Well, it may in terms of the frustration before the ceremony by the Parisian, by the restaurants,
04:43by the cafe.
04:44I think it will still be there, though the ceremony was a success and it is seen as a
04:49success around the world.
04:51Still, they have lost to face financial losses due to security measures, I believe.
04:56And everybody understand the need of security, but it was really heavy, believe me, and could
05:01be frustrating.
05:02Now, when it comes to the political situation, I'm sorry to say, but no impact.
05:06I mean, the ceremony was a great show.
05:09It shows that France is part of the world, is an active player in this world, in the
05:13Olympic world, but no impact on the political scene.
05:17The country will remain as fractured, as divided.
05:21And Emmanuel Macron, the president who declared the game open yesterday, still at the moment
05:26very isolated.