The welcome was grand, the emotion visceral as France's victorious World Cup team rolled down Paris' Champs-Elysees Avenue in an open-top bus Monday while tens of thousands of people cheered with unrestrained pride and jets streamed the national colors — blue, white, red — overhead.
The crowd that waited for hours to greet the soccer team, under a hot sun and amid celebratory smoke bombs that choked the air, got its moment hours after the team returned from Russia to hoist the gold trophy on French soil for the second time in 20 years.
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The welcome was grand, the emotion visceral as France's victorious World Cup team rolled down Paris' Champs-Elysees Avenue in an open-top bus Monday while tens of thousands of people cheered with unrestrained pride and jets streamed the national colors — blue, white, red — overhead.
The national team's 4-2 win over Croatia on Sunday gave France a new set of heroes, many of whom represent the changing face of a diverse, multicultural country with which not all French citizens have yet reckoned.
"Merci!" Macron, the youngest person to become France's president, told the guests. "This team is beautiful because it was united."
Team captain and goalie Hugo Lloris, brandishing the trophy from soccer's eminent tournament, and coach Didier Deschamps led the team onto the red carpet at the Elysee courtyard. With Republican Guards standing motionless in full dress uniforms, the squad quickly broke into party mode for the official photos.
"Eternal Happiness" read Monday's headline in French sports daily L'Equipe, summing up the mood of many who hoped the euphoria would last.
Several Paris Metro stations were temporarily adjusting their names to honor the team and its members, the transport authority tweeted. The Champs-Elysees Clemenceau has become the Deschamps-Elysees Clemenceau to honor coach Didier Deschamps.
It was the players, though, who captured the French imagination.
The crowd prepares to welcome the French soccer team for a parade a day after the French team victory in the soccer World Cup, Monday, July 16, 2018 in Paris. France is readying to welcome home the national soccer team for a parade down the Champs-Elysees, where tens of thousands thronged after the team's 4-2 victory over Croatia Sunday. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
The national team's 4-2 win over Croatia on Sunday gave France a new set of heroes, many of whom represent the changing face of a diverse, multicultural country with which not all French citizens have yet reckoned.
The red carpet welcome for the World Cup winners continued at the Elysee Palace, where President Emmanuel Macron threw an informal garden party that had 1,000 children and 300 athletes from local soccer clubs as guests.
Many of the invited clubs are based in the poor neighborhoods French that produced the players who made up France's youthful, diverse World Cup team, including 19-year-old breakout star Kylian Mbappe. Members of the club he grew up with in suburban Bondy attended the party.
French President Emmanuel Macron, third right, third right, poses with the French soccer players at the presidential Elysee Palace after the parade down the Champs-Elysees, where tens of thousands thronged after the team's 4-2 victory over Croatia at the Monday, July 16, 2018 in Paris. Holding the cup is captain Hugo Lloris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
"Merci!" Macron, the youngest person to become France's president, told the guests. "This team is beautiful because it was united."
Addressing the team, Macron offered advice.
"Don't change," he said, adding, "Never forget where you come from."
French President Emmanuel Macron, second center, his wife Brigitte, and team captain Hugo Lloris holding the cup, react at the Elysee Palace after the parade down the Champs-Elysees, where tens of thousands thronged after the team's 4-2 victory over Croatia at the Monday, July 16, 2018 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Team captain and goalie Hugo Lloris, brandishing the trophy from soccer's eminent tournament, and coach Didier Deschamps led the team onto the red carpet at the Elysee courtyard. With Republican Guards standing motionless in full dress uniforms, the squad quickly broke into party mode for the official photos.
The fun continued in the garden with chants led by midfielder Paul Pogba and off-the-cuff songs.
The victory came at a time when many French were in need of good news, and the magic provided a sense that a grand coming together might at least paper over political, economic and social fissures for a while.
Smoke in the colors of the national flag is released by the French aerobatic squad in Paris, Monday, July 16, 2018. France is readying to welcome home the national soccer team for a parade down the Champs-Elysees, where tens of thousands thronged after the team's 4-2 victory over Croatia Sunday. (Eric Feferberg/Pool Photo via AP)
"Eternal Happiness" read Monday's headline in French sports daily L'Equipe, summing up the mood of many who hoped the euphoria would last.
Before the reception, the Champs-Elysees became the epicenter of national pride for the third day in a row, following the post-World Cup celebrations that brought hundreds of thousands to the fame avenue Sunday and a Bastille Day parade of French military might Saturday.
The team appeared elated, too, during its victory lap on the bus Monday. Players threw scarves into the crowd and recorded the action.
France's players celebrate on the roof of a bus while parading down the Champs-Elysee avenue in Paris, Monday, July 16, 2018. France is readying to welcome home the national soccer team for a parade down the Champs-Elysees, where tens of thousands thronged after the team's 4-2 victory over Croatia Sunday. (Eric Feferberg/Pool Photo via AP)
Several Paris Metro stations were temporarily adjusting their names to honor the team and its members, the transport authority tweeted. The Champs-Elysees Clemenceau has become the Deschamps-Elysees Clemenceau to honor coach Didier Deschamps.
The Etoile station is, for now, "On a 2 Etoiles" (We have 2 stars), to denote France's second World Cup victory. The Victor Hugo station is now Victor Hugo Lloris, after France's standout goalie and team captain.
"We are linked for life now with this Cup," defender Raphael Varane told BFM-TV on Monday before departing from Moscow, evoking the theme of unity that French partiers have consistently evoked.
Macron exulted on the field in Moscow and in the locker room, hugging players as they received their medals even as the skies poured rain. The president clearly hoped the World Cup glow would rub off on him, raising him up in the eyes of a nation where his economic reforms have drawn fierce protests and labor strikes.
He meets Tuesday with business representatives and an eye on mobilizing them in needy neighborhoods of France.
France's players celebrate on the roof of a bus while parading down the famed Champs-Elysee avenue in Paris, Monday, July 16, 2018. France is readying to welcome home the national soccer team for a parade down the Champs-Elysees, where tens of thousands thronged after the team's 4-2 victory over Croatia Sunday. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
It was the players, though, who captured the French imagination.
Sports Minister Laura Flessel, who met the team at the airport, told Europe-1 radio that the World Cup victory allows France's youth — like those in the poor suburbs where many of the players grew up — "to dare to believe in their dreams."
French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris holds the cup as the French soccer team arrives at Charles de Gaulle airport, Monday, July 16, 2018 in Roissy, north of Paris. France is preparing to welcome home the national soccer team for a victory lap down the grand Champs-Elysees avenue, where hundreds of thousands thronged after the team's 4-2 victory Sunday over Croatia to capture the trophy. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
The patriotic fervor sparked by the World Cup did not prevent the vandalism and violence that sometimes accompany public celebrations in France. Broken shop windows and signs of looting lined a section of the Champs-Elysees. Authorities detained 90 people for questioning in the Paris region and some 290 around France.
