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Two months on, a Summer Olympics high turns into winter blues for Paris

Sense of despair hangs over French capital amid plummeting sports budget and soaring cost of Games

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The Eiffel Tower looms in the background during women’s beach volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Photo: AP

Swimmer Florent Manaudou is feeling glum, French MPs despair over a plummeting sports budget and the Eiffel Tower has lost its Olympic rings.

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Two months after the flame went out on the glittering Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the French capital is in the grip of a bout of post-Games blues.

Swimming superstar Leon Marchand, a four-time gold medallist, continues to impress in pools around the world, but for his teammate Manaudou, the return to everyday life has proved difficult.

The 33-year-old was the first torch bearer on French soil when the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille in April and won two bronze medals in the pool in Paris – but he wants to move on.

“It’s been very complicated emotionally since the end of the Games,” he said. “Everyone keeps plunging me back in. I don’t blame anyone, it’s completely normal but I want to move forward. I don’t want to be stuck in August 2024 for months and months.”

French swimmer Florent Manaudou is struggling to readjust to life after the Olympics. Photo: AFP
French swimmer Florent Manaudou is struggling to readjust to life after the Olympics. Photo: AFP

In the capital, the dismantling of the temporary Olympic venues is almost complete.

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