Home fans unite at Paris' Club France to celebrate Olympic success

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Home fans unite at Paris' Club France to celebrate Olympic success

2024-07-31 07:53 Last Updated At：08:00

PARIS (AP) — Just like the fans cheering 22-year-old French swimming prodigy Léon Marchand at La Défense Arena in western Paris, Olivier Legris was on his feet and chanting “Allez Léon! Allez Léon! (Go on Léon!)"

But Legris, 29, was nowhere near his idol. Instead, he was standing in front of a giant screen on the lawn of Club France, the largest fan zone in Paris for the Summer Games. Dressed in a Zinedine Zidane soccer jersey and a bucket hat in the colors of the French flag — despite temperatures nearing 100 degrees — he was with thousands of fans, all cheering for Marchand as he powered his way to finish first in the 200-meter butterfly semifinals on Tuesday night.

“That’s my way of joining the competition,” Legris said.

In the north of Paris, the Grande Halle de la Villette, typically an exhibition venue, has been transformed into Club France — a pulsating hub of national pride and celebration. On Tuesday, the French tricolor flag was everywhere, being waved in the hands of fans and painted on their faces.

“I’ve never felt more French,” said Zina Lemiere, a 57-year-old sporting a rooster beanie in the national colors. She has attended soccer matches at the Stade de France and is now watching the competitions at Club France.

The experience was unmistakably French, as for a brief moment the sporting celebrations made way for cultural interludes such as a ballet performance by the Preljocaj company. Outside, fans wearing berets indulged in a game of pétanque on a gravel ground set up by one of the many sponsors, to the sound of an electro remix of Edith Piaf’s classic “La Vie en rose.”

France has won a total of 18 medals so far and organizers said that more than a million French fans have watched the Olympics from one of the 150 fan zones across the country.

Every night, once the competitions wrap up, the Grande Halle transforms into a nightclub. Medal-winning French athletes often come to the venue to celebrate with their dedicated fans. Wild scenes of celebration following the French rugby sevens team’s gold medal victory went viral on Saturday.

Tuesday's celebrations did not reach similar decibels. Judo bronze medalist Clarisse Agbegnenou is still involved in the mixed judo competition, and women’s team epee silver medalists Coraline Vitalis, Marie-Florence Candassamy, Alexandra Louis-Marie, and Auriane Mallo-Breton were unable to make it to the stage. The fencing final finished too late for the athletes to reach the venue, the organizers explained to the crowd of disappointed fans.

“We dream of touching the athletes, getting close to their medals,” said Corentin Massa, an 18-year-old fan.

But fans continued to celebrate to the sound of French party classics like “Freed from Desire,” “I Will Survive,” and “Djadja,” all booming loud on the speakers way past midnight.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Wildfires latest: Winds subside as firefighters battle devastating blazes in Los Angeles area

2025-01-10 00:22 Last Updated At：00:31

Firefighters battled early Thursday to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes.

Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day. That could allow firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region, including massive ones in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

Here's the latest:

A Los Angeles County official said the region was mourning the loss of lives and property after several wildfires wreaked destruction in southern California.

Kathryn Barger, the chair of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, made the comments during a news conference on Thursday morning.

“While we are still facing significant threats, I am hopeful the tide is turning,” Barger said. Authorities are working “hand in hand” across jurisdictions, she said.

“Wildfires do not care about jurisdictional boundaries,” she said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department made the announcement on Thursday morning. Fire crews are still working in the area, and the department asked that people be careful as they return to their homes.

The Sunset Fire is a brush fire that broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday morning that it had burned 43 acres (17 hectares), well under a square mile.

More than 425,000 customers statewide are without power as wildfires continue to rage in southern California, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.

Southern California Edison wrote on its website that several community resource centers have been set up around the region and work crews have been deployed within impacted communities. The resource centers allow customers to charge mobile devices and medical equipment and get information.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said Wednesday night that it had restored power to more than 150,000 customers since the start of the windstorm. Roughly 94,000 of the utility’s customers remained without power Thursday morning, as wind and fire conditions continued to present hazards for work crews.

Firefighters in Southern California are accustomed to dealing with the strong Santa Ana winds that blow in the fall and winter, but the hurricane-force gusts earlier in the week took them by surprise.

“This is unlike anything I’ve seen in my 25 years on the fire department,” Los Angeles Fire Capt. Adam VanGerpen told CBS This Morning.

VanGerpen called the fire historic. Erratic winds gusted up to 99 mph the first night, spitting embers that rapidly spread the fire.

While gusts are dying down, VanGerpen said winds forecast through Friday were still cause for concern.

Aaron Samson, 48, was in Pacific Palisades at his father-in-law’s home caring for him when the time came to flee Tuesday. They had no car, however, and were unable to secure a ride through Uber or by calling 911. Samson flagged down a neighbor, who agreed to give them and their two bags a lift.

After a little more than half an hour in traffic, the flames closed in. The tops of palm trees burned like giant sparklers in the incessant wind.

With vehicles at a standstill, police ordered people to get out and flee on foot. Samson and his father-in-law left their bags and made their way to the sidewalk. The father-in-law, who is recovering from a medical procedure, steadied himself against a utility pole as Samson retrieved his walker and recorded the ordeal on his cellphone.

“We got it, Dad, we got it,” Samson said.

They walked for about 15 minutes before another good Samaritan saw them struggling, stopped and told them to get in his vehicle.

By Wednesday afternoon, Samson did not know if the home survived. But he said they were indebted to the two strangers.

“They saved us,” he said. “They really stepped up.”

▶ Read more stories from those who escaped the fire

President Joe Biden will gather senior White House and administration officials for the briefing after he returns from delivering the eulogy at the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter.

He was briefed earlier Thursday on the latest updates of the wildfires across Los Angeles.

Many communities, including several in California, have warning alert systems that allow residents to sign up for push notifications to their mobile phones or email accounts.

FEMA has a downloadable app that provides real-time alerts on mobile phones, and public safety agencies can also push alerts to television, radio and wireless devices through the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System. The NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is a nationwide network of radio stations that broadcast continuous weather information as well as official Weather Service warnings, forecasts and other hazard information.

A battery- or crank-operated portable radio can also be a critical tool for receiving emergency alerts, especially in areas where cellular service is unreliable or when regional cellular towers might be threatened by wind, fire or other hazards.

The latest flames broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, striking closer to the heart of the city and the roots of its entertainment industry and putting densely populated neighborhoods on edge during exceptionally windy and dry conditions.

Within a few hours, firefighters had made major progress on the Sunset Fire in the hills. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said they were able to keep the fire in check because “we hit it hard and fast and mother nature was a little nicer to us today than she was yesterday.”

The dramatic level of destruction in some places was apparent in a comparison of satellite images before and after the fire.

A swath of about 250 homes in an Altadena neighborhood dotted with the green canopies of leafy trees and aquamarine swimming pools was reduced to rubble. Only a few homes were left standing and some were still in flames in the images by Maxar Technologies.

Along a stretch of about 70 wall-to-wall homes overhanging the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, fewer than 10 appeared to be intact.