The US will play France for the basketball crown at the Paris Games in a gold-medal rematch

PARIS (AP) — It’s a game the French wanted. It’s a game the Americans probably expected. It’s a game the world most certainly will be watching.

The U.S. vs. France. In Paris. For basketball gold.

“Incredible,” U.S. forward Kevin Durant said of the storyline, one so good that only the boldest of script makers would dare to come up with such a final act. The showdown on Saturday night at the Paris Olympics is a rematch of the gold medal game from the Tokyo Games three years ago.

The U.S. is seeking a fifth consecutive gold medal and 17th overall; the French are seeking their first gold after settling for silver at the 1948, 2000 and 2020 Olympics, losing the final to the Americans in each of those tournaments.

“I mean, this is what everybody wants, right?” U.S. guard Devin Booker said. “It’s going to be a fun one.”

Added U.S. guard Stephen Curry: “I know it's going to be a battle. That's what it's supposed to be if you're trying to win a gold medal.”

Both teams ran the emotional gamut just to get to the final. France held off World Cup champion Germany 73-69 in one semifinal, partaking in a raucous on-court celebration afterward as fans roared and 7-foot-4 star Victor Wembanyama was nearly moved to tears. The U.S. trailed Serbia by 17 points in the second quarter, by 15 in the final seconds of the third quarter, then finished on a 34-15 run over the final 10:08 to win 95-91.

It was the first time in Olympic history that both semifinal games in men’s basketball were decided by four points or fewer.

“For us, all of us staff, players, it’s a dream to be able to play the finals in Paris,” France coach Vincent Collet said. “That’s what we said before the (semifinal). I asked the players, ‘Are you going to let the German team steal the finals from your hands?’ They were answering, ‘No, no way, no way, we die on the court, no way.’”

Curry scored 36 points — the second most in U.S. Olympic men's history — in the semifinal win for the U.S., Joel Embiid savored more booing from the French and scored 19 points, LeBron James had his second career Olympic triple-double (everyone else in Olympic men's basketball history, combined, has two) and Durant made a huge jumper with 34 seconds left to help hold Serbia at bay.

For the Americans, the stars showed up. For the French, it was perhaps the lesser-known — at least to NBA fans — players who delivered most. Guerschon Yabusele scored 17 and Isaia Cordinier added 16 for France, while the big names like Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum shot a combined 9 for 32.

Didn’t matter. France still had enough.

“The will to improve, the will to sacrifice for your team, the will to do the next pass, the next play for your teammate, that was always there but we needed time,” Wembanyama said of how the French have improved throughout the tournament. “The intention was always good.”

And now the French get a home game against the biggest powerhouse nation the sport has ever known.

In the first eight meetings between the U.S. and France in major international men’s competition (Olympics or the world championships, now known as the World Cup), the Americans went 8-0, with all those wins coming by at least 10 points and by an average of 25.9 points.

In the four games since — a three-point win for the U.S. in the 2016 Olympics, a 10-point France win in the 2019 World Cup that kept the Americans from medaling and sent them spiraling to a seventh-place flop, then two meetings that they split at the Olympics at Tokyo three years ago — the sides are 2-2.

Combined score of those contests: France 351, U.S. 342.

“I mean, we’ve been that good, guys. You know, we’ve been that good,” Fournier said. “We beat Team USA in 2019. We went to the gold final in Tokyo. We beat them in a group phase in Tokyo. So, we’ve been good.”

Both teams have been good. One will be good as gold.

Embiid will hear booing again; he knew it was coming after choosing to play for the U.S. instead of France at these Olympics. But it's not the booing in Paris that has captured U.S. coach Steve Kerr's attention. It's the cheering.

There's a song — “Freed from Desire” by Gala — that has served as the unofficial crowd anthem of sorts during these Olympics. It will be one of Kerr's lasting memories of his time in France. He and his assistant coaches have stood on the ramp leading to the court during the games immediately preceding theirs in Paris, and the song has gotten his attention over and over.

“They kept playing that European anthem that I can’t get out of my head," Kerr said. "You guys all know the song, and everybody was just bouncing around, and I literally took my phone out and I videoed the crowd because it was so special just to see the energy and the enthusiasm and obviously it’ll be even louder Saturday night. And I can’t wait. I think it’ll be one of the most fun games I’ll ever be a part of.”

It's what the Americans came for. It's what the French hoped for. One game, for gold. That was the message James gave the U.S. in the huddle immediately after the final buzzer against Serbia, and that'll be the message all the way up to tipoff on Saturday night.

“I told them that it’s good to be tested. It’s great to be tested,” James said. “And our ultimate goal, we’re one game away.”

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

France head coach Vincent Collet yells to his team during a men's basketball game against Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Steve Kerr, coach for the United States gestures during a men's semifinals basketball game against Serbia at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

United States' LeBron James (6) and Kevin Durant (7) celebrate a basket against Serbia during a men's semifinals basketball game at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Mathias Lessort (26), of France and Victor Wembanyama (32), of France celebrate after beating Germany during a men's semifinals basketball game at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Rudy Gobert (27), of France drives past Germany during a men's semifinals basketball game at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

United States' Kevin Durant, right, draws the foul after scoring as United States' Anthony Davis (14) reacts against Serbia during a men's semifinals basketball game at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — In the nosebleed seats of a nearly-empty Baku Olympic stadium coated with a layer of dust, activists used a giant banner to beam the words “Pay Up” to the world.

The protest took weeks of thought and planning, but most of the attendees at this year's U.N. climate talks didn't see or hear it — except for maybe some in the COP29 presidency offices right below. The majority of the people involved in deciding the financial future of climate action at the talks remained in the sprawling venue, under white tarps with no windows.

It’s “really hard to make our demands heard,” said Bianca Castro, a climate activist from Portugal. She’s been to several COPs in the past and remembers years when there were thousands of protestors in the streets, and a multitude of strikes and actions throughout the event. But at the stadium's seats, they were told exactly where and when they could stand and chants were restricted. A United Nations climate change spokesperson said that the action was in a part of the venue that isn’t open to participants, and involved extensive dialogue among the participants, facility managers and health and safety officers.

Still, Castro said the difficulty of making an impact meant many are "losing hope in the in the process."

People involved in protests say they have felt a trend in recent years of stricter rules from the United Nations organizers with COPs being held in countries whose governments limit demonstrations and the participation of civil society. And some community spaces for prepping and organizing have had to resort to going underground because of security concerns. But the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change — who run the COPs — say the code of conduct that governs the conferences has not changed, nor has the way it's applied, and COP29 organizers say there's space across the venue for participants to “make their voices heard in line with the UNFCCC code of conduct and Azerbaijan law safely and without interference.”

Despite the challenges and what some see as a depressing mood, activists say it remains a critical time to speak up about the historical and present-day injustices that are in desperate need of money and attention.

It's especially true this year at a COP where the theme is finance, because voices from the Global South play a pivotal role in bringing ambitious demands to the negotiating table, said Rachitaa Gupta, who coordinates a global network of organizations advocating for climate justice. But she said that there have been more and more defamation rules each year that prohibit protestors from calling out specific countries or names.

“We do feel that the restrictions have reached a stage where it’s a constant battle on what we can say,” Gupta said. Activists can’t name specific countries, people or businesses in line with the UNFCCC’s code of conduct.

Meanwhile, across town in a downtown Baku building, activists paint, snip fabric and sculpt with cardboard and papier-mache in a quest for visually compelling symbols of climate action. The art space was once a place of community, where people came to pour their feelings into a creative outlet, said Amalen Sathananthar, coordinator at a collective called the Artivist Network. But now his team keeps the art space private and doesn't reveal its location because of security concerns.

Restrictions, though, can breed creativity among the artists designing the banners, flags and props that demonstrators use during protests. In the absence of naming specific people or countries, or carrying country flags, they instead have to come up with other imagery to get their messages across.

One of this year’s pieces was a larger-than-life snake for an action with the slogan “Weed Out the Snakes,” calling attention for the removal of big polluters and fossil fuel lobbyists at climate talks, something that's been “outrageous,” said Jax Bongon, whose organization is part of the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition. “Would you invite an arsonist to put out the fire?”

It's an issue that's "particularly hard for me as someone from the Philippines,” Bongon added, but called it "really uplifting" to watch the action come together despite challenges.

Demonstrators hoisted the fire-colored serpent with on their shoulders and heads. Together, their hisses filled the tent, bringing the snake to life.

“I think that the only reason people dare to do this is because, one, they're struggling on how to be heard,” said Dani Rupa, one of the artists working in Baku with The Artivist Network. “But, two, that there is like creative support for them to be able to do this.”

The Artivist Network have been doing this for a long time, attending COPs unofficially since the early 2000s and officially since they formalized in 2018. Sathananthar's seen the multitude of ways protestors have had to argue with host countries and the UNFCCC governing body to get space for activism. But this year, especially, he said it's a struggle — “negotiations within negotiations” that have had Sathananthar staying up late into the night in talks and on occasion have left him “fuming.”

A spokesperson for UNFCCC said they've “been a recognized global leader in ensuring safe civic spaces at COPs for many years" which normally doesn't happen at other intergovernmental events.

Still, activists feel that only being able to protest within certain areas throughout the venue — when previous years have seen mass street marches in host cities — can be frustrating.

“Every action you now have to fight for desperately," Sathananthar said. “We fought to get these spaces and we will fight to keep them."

Follow Melina Walling on X at @MelinaWalling. Follow Joshua A. Bickel on X and Instagram.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Anna Varszegi, of Budapest, Hungary, works on preparations for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Dani Rupa, from Budapest, Hungary, paints a snake for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Kevin Buckland, right, and other activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels called weed out the snakes at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Activists with signs spell out "pay up" for climate finance in the Baku Olympic Stadium during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Activists with signs spell out "pay up" for climate finance in the Baku Olympic Stadium during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Kevin Buckland, front, and other activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels called weed out the snakes at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Shaq Koyok, of Malaysia, paints a sign ahead of a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Anna Varszegi, of Budapest, Hungary, sketches out patterns during preparations for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Dani Rupa, from Budapest, Hungary, paints a snake for a demonstration during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels called weed out the snakes at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)