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TOPIC: olympics

This Happened

This Happened — September 5: Munich Olympics Terrorist Attack

The Munich Olympics terrorist attack happened on this day in in 1972.

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This Happened — August 27: Team U.S.A. Olympics Huge Upset

Argentina beat the star-studded U.S. basketball team at the Athens Olympics on this day in 2004.

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This Happened — August 16: Usain Bolt Breaks Own World Record

Usain Bolt sets a new world record of 9.58 seconds for the 100-meter dash on this day in 2009.

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The Real Splash At Next Year's Paris Olympics? The River Seine, Reimagined

The Seine, the backbone of Paris' Olympic celebrations, is being reclaimed as a recreational and transport hub. Does it mean Napoleon's dream of a "Greater Paris" stretching all the way to the sea will finally happen?

PARIS — "Groundbreaking" ... That's likely the word that best applies to the next Olympic Games opening ceremony, scheduled for July 26, 2024 in the French capital. That is not to say that previous ceremonies have been lackluster or short on special effects. But they all took place in a stadium. This time, however, the events artistic director Thomas Joly will be using the Seine river as his creative space. No less than six kilometers of it, from the Pont d'Austerlitz to the Eiffel Tower. Enough to dazzle the lucky few who manage to buy a paying ticket, or find a seat at the top of the freely accessible platforms.

For them, and a billion or so television viewers, the Seine will undoubtedly be one of the stars of the ceremony. And, let's face it, it will be one of the markers of the success of the 2024 Olympic Games. Because far beyond the opening show, this legendary waterway – known the world over and celebrated by so many artists – is omnipresent in the Olympic Games Organizing Committee’s (CoJo’s) project. From the Olympic village built on the banks of the Saint-Denis and Saint-Ouen rivers to the open-water swimming events, the Seine's presence was a decisive factor in the triumph of Paris' candidacy.

This global event is also expected to symbolically kickstart a major movement to reclaim the river. Riverbank residents will soon be able to bathe in it again, thanks to the major clean-up work carried out in the run-up to the Olympic Games, and all the economic players will become increasingly aware of the untapped potential of river transport in a time of ecological transition.

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This Happened

This Happened — August 3: A Historic Gold Medal At Hitler's Olympics

Jesse Owens won his first gold medal at the Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany on this day in 1936. The American athlete was the first to cross the line of the 100-meter dash — one of the marquee track and field events at the Olympics.

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This Happened

This Happened — July 30: Bruce Jenner Wins Decathlon

Caitlyn Jenner, then known as Bruce Jenner, won the Men's decathlon at the 1976 Montreal Olympics on this day.

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Geopolitics
Grégoire Poussielgue

Why The Riots In France May Push Macron Further To The Right

The riots and looting continue after the police shooting death of a 17-year-old in the outskirts of Paris. Already embattled over labor reforms, French President Emmanuel Macron's hopes to make peace with center-left allies are getting pushed aside by demands for law and order.

– Analysis –

PARIS – After surviving multiple strikes and street protests this spring against his reform to raise France's retirement age from 62 to 64, Emmanuel Macron was counting on something of a truce. The French President, who was reelected last year on a centrist platform, told aides to plan on a period of 100 days, leading up to the July 14th Bastille Day national holiday, to bring calm to the country and kick-start the projects of his second term that had been slow to take off.

Any such plans have been shattered by urban riots and a sudden surge of violence following the death of young Nahel M last Tuesday, killed by a police officer at a traffic stop.

For the past five days, the riots have continued, accompanied by looting, fires and attacks on public buildings. According to the Association of French Mayors, 150 mayors’ offices or other municipal buildings have been attacked since Tuesday, an unprecedented number.

The riots and looting have affected not only low-income neighborhoods on the outskirts but also the upscale centers of major cities, such as Marseille. With 45,000 police officers deployed every night, the government is implementing an unprecedented mobilization that even surpasses the measures taken during the 2005 riots.

This firmness seems to be paying off. A slight and fragile calm was observed the past two nights. However, the situation is far from being under control. A new threshold of violence was crossed Saturday night with the attack on the residence of Vincent Jeanbrun, the mayor of L’Haÿ-Les-Roses, near Paris, with the intention of setting his house on fire while his wife and two young children were inside.

Macron’s schedule has been disrupted with one urgent priority: restoring calm. After returning earlier than planned from the European summit in Brussels, he then had to cancel his state visit to Berlin. Last March, social tensions related to the pension reform had already led to the cancellation of the visit to France by King Charles III of England.

The government is doing everything possible to avoid giving the impression that the situation is slipping out of control despite the shocking images circulating on social media.

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This Happened

This Happened - April 6: The Olympics Return

The first modern Olympic Games took place on this day 1896, in Athens, Greece.

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Future
Jacques Henno

Beyond Ukraine, How To Defend Against Drones As A Weapon-Of-Choice For Terrorists

The war in Ukraine has shown how civilian drones can be effectively used as weapons. Meanwhile in Paris, with preparations on to host the Olympics in 2024, the city is testing some unlikely solutions to make sure the devices can't be employed by terrorists.

PARIS — Police in Paris are busy walking through the worst-case scenarios. One is a drone appearing out of nowhere, undetected because it flies low and emits no radio waves thanks to its autonomous navigation. The reason? They've been tasked with protecting two major events being organized in France: the Rugby World Cup in September and October 2023, and then the Olympic Games in July and August 2024.

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This Happened

This Happened—November 12: Nadia Comăneci, Perfection From Romania

Romania's Nadia Comăneci is credited with popularizing the sport of gymnastics worldwide, getting her successful start at a very young age.

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In The News
Lorraine Olaya and Anne-Sophie Goninet

Biden-Putin Summit In Limbo, Australia Reopens, Ye’s Beef

👋 Adishatz!*

Welcome to Monday, where Russia denies reports of upcoming Biden-Putin summit, the Queen has COVID and Kanye West is making a list of beefs. Meanwhile, we look at how China’s "great health wall" is making life for foreign businesses and foreign workers more and more difficult.

[*Occitan - France]

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Economy
Frédéric Schaeffer

China’s Zero COVID Policy Starts To Scare Away Foreign Business

For almost two years, the country where COVID-19 emerged has been living virtually cut off from the rest of the world. And in the realm of business, China's zero COVID policy has had serious consequences on foreign workers and companies, which may last beyond the pandemic.

It is 4:30 a.m. as the ambulance cuts through the Shanghai night on its way to a hospital in the Pudong district. Disembarked in an isolated building, the Frenchman was first sprayed with a disinfectant before undergoing two serological tests, a PCR test in the nose, another in the mouth and then a lung X-ray.

There is no face in front of him. The staff is masked, visor in front of the eyes and dressed in a full protective suit. There were few words exchanged, but the young man understood that he had tipped into another dimension.

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