Olympics
The morning after! France’s ‘beautiful dream’ fades as Paris 2024 gives way to political crisis
The Paris Olympics delivered a dazzling summertime success that charmed the world and reaffirmed French national pride. The hangover will be tough.
With Sunday’s closing ceremony drawing a line under the sporting spectacle, President Emmanuel Macron must now deal with a self-created political crisis that he swept under the carpet until the Games were over.
Talks over government jobs and budget cuts loom – with voter anger sure to follow.
“Now we have to wake up from this beautiful dream,” said Christine Frant, 64, at the Club France fan zone last weekend. “Such a shame we’re going to return to our day-to-day routine, with no government, squabbles in parliament, while here it was all about joy, sharing.”
Macron seemed to cast the entire fate of the Olympics into doubt when he called a snap legislative election just weeks before the Games were due to begin. Voters delivered a hung parliament.
Choosing a prime minister who can appease Macron’s centrist camp, a leftist alliance and the far-right National Rally has proven tricky.
After days of political dealmaking that went nowhere after the July 7 vote, Macron declared a political truce for the duration of the Games, giving himself until around mid-August to name a prime minister and let political parties negotiate.
The mysterious sabotage on railway and telecoms targets at the start of the Games seemed like an ominous portent, but after that, the event carried on with no further security scares.
Macron decamped to his presidential retreat on the French Riviera, with a few incursions into Paris, including for a long hug with French judo titan Teddy Riner after he clinched his fourth career gold.
While many in France followed the tribulations of the Lebruns, two ping-pong-playing brothers, or cheered on star swimmer Leon Marchand, French politicians have been plotting a way out of the crisis.
Now, Macron will need to make a decision.
DECISION TIME
He has ignored the candidate painstakingly agreed on by the left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front, which came on top in the elections but has so far made no overtures to other parties to garner a majority.
Despite efforts to bolster her profile with media interviews, the chosen candidate Lucie Castets remains a political unknown.
“Who is she?” said Zahera Dakkar, 40, after watching the volleyball final at Club France. “I haven’t followed politics for two weeks. The Games were an escape from all that.”
Castets’ hopes of the left taking Matignon, the prime minister’s official residence, appear slim. Macron believes the vote delivered a National Assembly whose “centre of gravity is in the centre or the centre-right,” a source close to him said.
“We need a personality capable of talking to the centre, the right and the left. From the socially-minded right to the left that care about law-and-order,” said the source, who declined to be named to discuss the president’s thinking.
Macron’s eventual pick cannot appear to be a flunky, the source added, with an oppositional figure needed to give the government a “flavour of cohabitation”.
Xavier Bertrand, a former conservative minister under ex-President Jacques Chirac who has had tough words against Macron but has collaborated constructively with his government in his northern region fiefdom, could be compatible, the source said.
Bernard Cazeneuve, a former prime minister under Socialist President Francois Hollande, who was in office at the time of the 2015 Islamist attacks in Paris, could also work, the source said. Both men’s offices did not return a request for comment.
BUDGET CHALLENGE
Whoever Macron names will face a tough job, with the parliamentary approval of the 2025 budget top of the in-tray at a time when France is under pressure from the European Commission and bond markets to reduce its deficit.
“If Macron tries to name a sort of rightist government, he will get no budget,” said Eric Coquerel, the leftist head of the finance committee in parliament.
Macron’s entourage is keen to use the Games, organised by a centrist president, a Socialist mayor and a conservative regional leader, as an example of what France can do when different sides come together.
His rivals want to make sure the president gets no credit, Senator Laure Darcos told Reuters.
Even if Macron’s domestic fortunes remain bleak, the Games have bolstered his international standing.
Michael Payne, a former IOC marketing chief, said the president is seen from abroad as “the leader who delivered,” but he believed Macron had made a major strategic mistake by calling the snap election before the Olympics rather than after.
At Club France, where families stood in line to take selfies with the Olympic torch or snapped up fluffy red mascots, it was hard to find anyone who wanted to talk politics.
“Please, no!” said Frant, a French flag around her neck.
-Reuters
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will begin their campaign for a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games from the second round of the African qualifiers after being granted a bye in the opening stage.
The draw, conducted on Wednesday in Cairo by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), placed Nigeria among 29 higher-ranked teams exempted from the first round of the series.
The Super Falcons will take on the winner of the first-round clash between South Sudan and Comoros in their opening fixture of the qualifiers.
A total of 35 nations are competing for just two available slots allocated to Africa for the women’s football tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, underlining the intensity and high stakes of the qualification process.
The qualifiers will be contested over five knockout rounds on a home-and-away basis, leaving little room for error as teams battle for continental representation on the global stage.
The first round involves the six lowest-ranked teams—Sudan, Mauritius, Djibouti, South Sudan, Madagascar and Comoros—based on the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings. Winners from this stage will advance to face each other again before the 29 seeded teams, including Nigeria, enter the fray.
Nigeria will be aiming to consolidate their status among Africa’s elite women’s football nations, having qualified for the most recent Olympic tournament alongside Zambia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Although the Super Falcons boast a notable Olympic pedigree, having made their debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and subsequently appearing at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024, qualification has not always been easy.
The 16-year gap between their last two participations in Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024 illustrates the tough time they have endured in the qualifying series.
With the women’s football event at Los Angeles 2028 set to feature 16 teams—including hosts the United States—Nigeria’s path to qualification is expected to be demanding.
Attention will now shift to the preliminary encounter between South Sudan and Comoros, as Nigeria’s technical crew intensify preparations ahead of their second-round entry point.
For the Super Falcons, the mission is clear: successfully navigate a rigorous qualifying campaign and secure a return to the Olympic stage in 2028.
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Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will on Wednesday discover their route to the football event of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when the Confederation of African Football conducts the official draw in Cairo.
The draw ceremony, scheduled for April 29 at CAF headquarters in Egypt, will set in motion Africa’s qualifying campaign for the women’s football tournament of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
A total of 35 countries, including Nigeria, will participate in the race for just two tickets allocated to Africa for the Olympic football event, which will take place from July 11 to 29, 2028.
Alongside Nigeria, other contenders include continental heavyweights such as South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Zambia, as well as a wide range of emerging nations from across the continent.
The full list of participating teams also features Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
According to CAF, the qualification series will be played over five rounds, gradually narrowing the field to the two teams that will fly Africa’s flag at the Olympics in the United States.
For Nigeria, Africa’s most successful women’s national team, the qualifiers present another opportunity to reaffirm their continental dominance and secure a return to the Olympic stage after recent mixed fortunes in global competitions.
The Super Falcons, nine-time African champions, are expected to be among the top seeds when the draw is conducted, a factor that could influence their early-round opponents.
Wednesday’s ceremony in Cairo will therefore provide clarity on the fixtures, timelines and potential hurdles facing Nigeria and other contenders as the road to Los Angeles officially begins.
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By Kunle Solaja.
Morocco’s senior women’s national team will on Wednesday learn their opponents and qualification pathway to the football event of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games when the Confederation of African Football stages the official draw in Cairo.
The draw, billed for April 29 at CAF headquarters in Egypt, marks the starting point of Africa’s qualifying campaign, with 35 nations set to battle for just two coveted Olympic slots.
For Morocco, the exercise represents another significant step in the country’s rapidly rising profile in women’s football. The Atlas Lionesses, who have emerged as one of Africa’s most improved sides in recent years, will be aiming to secure a historic qualification for the Olympic Games.
The North Africans will face stiff competition from traditional powerhouses such as Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon and Ghana, alongside other ambitious sides including Zambia and Senegal.
Also in the race are Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
CAF confirmed that the qualifiers will unfold across five rounds, with the field gradually trimmed down until only two teams remain to represent Africa at the Olympics in the United States from July 11 to 29, 2028.
Morocco are expected to be among the seeded teams for the early rounds, a reflection of their recent performances on the continental stage, including their strong showing at recent Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
Wednesday’s draw in Cairo will therefore be crucial in determining Morocco’s early matchups and the potential obstacles on their path, as they seek to translate recent progress into a maiden appearance at the Olympic Games.
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