Olympic swimmers inspire France to unite – but for how long?

Swimming star Léon Marchand appears to have inspired some of France’s “fraternity” ideals, which may feel in short supply in the host country during the recent period of deep political divisions.

He was once again cheered on by the home crowd in Sunday’s 4x100m medley relay, where he and his teammates took the bronze medal after briefly taking the lead.

The 22-year-old won four gold medals at the Olympics – more than any other French athlete at a single Olympics – and was compared to American legend Michael Phelps.

Even more bizarre is an idea floated by political cartoonists and social media users, who joke that Marchand should be elected prime minister after the left-wing coalition finally triumphed over the far-right in last month’s hotly contested snap elections.

French cultural historian Andrew Hussey explained that the jokes showed France’s desire to “celebrate a man who seemed so dedicated and sincere in his sport and lifestyle”. A sharp contrast with the country’s traditional culture.

Parisians lounging on the grass in one of the city’s parks and watching sporting events on big screens said the athlete’s heroics had served as a welcome diversion during the crisis.

“We don’t want to think about these issues,” said a woman named Thanh. “We don’t want to think about the division of the country.” The swimmer helped “smooth everything out.”

Lewis agreed: “When Marchand plays, it’s the most important thing in the country for a while.”

President Macron said talks on forming a new government would have to wait until after the Paralympics, where politics appeared to be largely on hold.

Mr Macron was among those who personally ranted against Mr Marchand. The arena was filled with deafening roars of “allez” (“go”) every time the golden boy pushed his cap out of the water in the 200-meter individual medley on Friday night.

But anyone who really hoped Marchand would stick his head above the political guardrail looks likely to be disappointed.

The US-trained swimmer has avoided getting involved in public debate. This is in stark contrast to another national hero, football star Kylian Mbappe. Unforgettable is the 2024 European Cup press conference Urged to vote against the far right.

Philip Barker, editor of Olympic History Magazine, said the tradition of popular support for heroes is as old as the Olympics themselves.

Barker said some of the host nation’s sporting heroes inspired lasting change.

He cited Aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman, who celebrated her 400m dash victory in Sydney in 2000 while carrying Australian and Aboriginal flags, which she believed inspired Australians to express their love for Aboriginal people. The inclusive spirit of the residents, a spirit that “never really existed before”.

During the London 2012 Olympics, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah competed in what was soon to be dubbed “Super Week” He quickly won the gold medal in the “6” competition and became popular among people.

But Barker said the “golden age” of British unity was rather short-lived, pointing to the political divisions that characterized the Scottish independence and Brexit referendums in the years that followed.

One expert on contemporary French politics agrees that the unifying effect of Marchand and his fellow French medalists is unlikely to last long.

Emile Chabal, professor of contemporary history at the University of Edinburgh, said: “We expect that as soon as the Olympics are over, the political spectrum will return to fragmentation and voters will become disaffected.”

“There’s not much Marchand mania – we’ve seen this before with great French sports stars, like [Zinedine] Zidane or Mbappe – will prevent that,” he said.

But over the past week, Marchand’s compatriots have been fixated on his exploits — so much so that even those who shelled out big bucks for Olympic tickets spent some time watching him play on their phones.

This also applies to Audrey, a Parisian in Fan Park, who admits she took her eyes off a volleyball match to witness Marchand win a gold medal on screen.

Audrey pointed out that although France has found a new hero, “maybe there will be another Marchand next week”. Regardless, Marchand is just one part of something bigger.

“It’s not just about him,” she said, citing the “amazing” opening ceremony.

France should be very proud of what we have shown the world through the Olympics, she said.