-Analysis-
PARIS — The hope of an “Olympic truce” began with the worst that France has to offer. At 4 a.m. last Friday, suspected far-left saboteurs set fire to SNCF equipment, paralyzing part of TGV high-speed train service for several hours. And yet, our country would go on later that day to show the world how France can still rise to the occasion.
For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.
The best part was the incredible opening ceremony, which was original, festive and utterly creative. The colors were superb, as were the historical sequences and the surprises that punctuated this unforgettable evening. The risk-taking was real, and the credit goes to director of the ceremony Thomas Jolly, head of France’s Olympic Committee Tony Estanguet and, yes, President Emmanuel Macron.
National identities
This event provided an opportunity to answer a question that has been nagging at us collectively for several years: What does it mean to be French? What is our essence, beyond an exacerbated critical sense, endless quarrels and revolutionary impulses that poorly conceal a deep-seated conservatism?
This can lead to the worst in us, when we believe we know better than everyone else
The Germans are rallying around their economic model. The British around their insularity. The Americans around their technological genius and, for a century, their messianic role in the world. The Chinese are proud of their fantastic economic development — just as the Italians and Greeks are proud of their cultural and historical heritage.
Soul searching
Aspiration to equality and social progress have always been the driving forces behind France. Today, what sets it apart is creativity, which it needs more than ever. The ability, in a certain number of fields (intellectual, scientific, economic) to move the lines, to innovate, to transgress, to refuse artificial disciplines. This is what was shown to the world on Friday evening.
This can lead to the worst in us, when we believe we know better than everyone else (the adoption a generation ago of compulsory 35-hour working week led to an industrial disaster, which begat radicalized politics…).
It’s thus up to us to let this inventive genius drive us toward the best of our intentions, to our inventiveness, letting our energies unfold.
Voltaire once said: “France always arrive late… but she always arrives.” Now is the time to choose the right direction.
