Quotes
I think you got that one big dog,
Lyles told Thompson on the track, as officials decided the winner My wife joins me in sending our warmest congratulations to the competitors and their support teams from Team GB and across the whole Commonwealth, for their many outstanding successes at the Olympic Games in Paris.
In his full statement he said We don't really have the culture of coalitions,
Attal said, alluding to the top-down presidential system that has dominated the Fifth Republic Today, no responsible politician can say that the French are durably and definitively divided and that there are not possible levers to bring them together,
Gabriel Attal, the departing prime minister, said in an interview The Olympic Games are for the rich, not for us,
Farid Khelifi, 61, who described himself as a “taxi artisan”, said We were the forgotten people of the republic before the Games and we will be forgotten after the Games. We will be back in the shadows again.”
Carmel Lelo, 45, who works in a medical laboratory, added I think all we will be left with in the long term are memories of the Games being held here.”
Affi, 40, a self-employed business adviser, agreed We will see in 2025 if all the things reserved for the Olympic Games are open to the public. Psychologically, people feel they have been forgotten, have no dignity and are despised by society. They feel relegated. So we hope the Games will have concrete repercussions.”
Outside the new Saint-Denis-Pleyel Métro station, the terminus for Line 14, one woman, who did not want to be named, told the Observer It’s very French to complain, but the Games can only have a positive effect here, now, in five years, in 10 years and anyone who thinks they aren’t good for the town needs their head examined. Many activities and events are organised here and when the visitors have gone we will be left with the sports facilities.”
Florent Monnac, 33, who moved to Saint-Denis, the most populated town in Seine-Saint-Denis, two years ago, said It’s been a huge success. An extraordinary and exceptional moment that has reinforced the image of Paris,
I don’t know if it will change Seine-Saint-Denis in the long term but I’d like to be optimistic. They have promised us more shops and facilities,
Let's remember those attacks, we responded swiftly, the accreditation system was impacted (by a cyber attack) but we solved the problem within four hours,
Swimming in the river Seine, we have faced challenges but we did it, we delivered this ambition, that's why it's a fantastic success so far,
We had no guarantees on storms, some of them were not anticipated and happened, others were anticipated and did not happen,
The ambition we had was worth fighting for, we made strong choices, bold choices that are not always the easiest ones,
Estanguet told a press conference a day before the Games end