Les Jeux Olympiques in Paris, 1900, 1924 and now in 2024!
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles episode 48
Guest: Sarah Zwick - Be My Guest Immersions
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In Australia watching the Olympic Games in 2021 was a relief for many of us in lockdown. The Paralympics is on as I write this blog and I find myself often overcome with emotion at the perseverance and inspirational stories of so many of the competitors.
I was fascinated to hear from ma belle amie Sarah Zwick about the main sports that France excels at. This year in the recent Olympic Games France medalled in a variety of events including handball, judo and fencing. Sarah thinks the fencing prowess could be a left over from the Three Musketeers or Les Trois Mousquetaires! It may be the importance placed on fencing through history in France however. It was once a way to become a noble and was also compulsory for soldiers at one point in history too. Good fencers were almost like celebrities in their day!
I discovered through talking about this topic with Sarah that the Olympic Games whilst sometimes just referred to as “the Olympics” or even just “the games” in English, in French it is always called “Les Jeux Olympiques”.
In France, excitement is building for the next Olympics in 2024 in Paris, exactly 100 years since it was last in my favourite city!
The Paris Olympic organisers seem to have thought a lot about the logistics of the game and also how it will be viewed around the world. There will be swimming on the Seine, volleyball under le Tour Eiffel, archery at Les Invalides, fencing at the Grand Palais and cycling on the Champs Elysee! We will feel as though we have visited Paris as well as been immersed in the Olympic spirit!
I asked Sarah for an idea of French inspirational athletes and she gave me her 4 fave French women athletes. Micheline Ostermeyer, Colette Besson, Marie-José Pérec, Laura Flessel. Check them out. They are amazingly inspiring women.
Sarah informed me about the Frenchman who is responsible for our modern Olympics. Pierre de Coubertin is widely recognised as the founder of the modern Olympic Games and the International Olympic Committee.
For any FrancoFilers wanting to connect with Sarah, get in touch via her Be My Guest in France website. She does online lessons for students in Australia, the US and across the world. As soon as travel opens up her immersion stays in the Pay Basque will be possible too. Go and visit and get a taste of her wonderful French life!
Recette
As there will be loads of tourists in Paris in 2024 (hopefully me included!) we decided to share a recipe much loved by tourists and French residents alike.
Sarah also gave us a variation called a Croque Madame as well.
Musique
A song from the musical spectacular “Les Trois Mousquetaires” sung by Olivier Dion, Damien Sargue and David Ban.
