Cassandre Beaugrand delivered a brilliant performance to claim France’s first individual Olympic gold in women’s triathlon, securing a victory amidst a thrilling race that saw crashes, strong contenders, and a tense finish. The race, initially delayed due to pollution concerns, saw Beaugrand rise to the challenge, breaking the tape in 1 hour, 54:55, with Switzerland’s Julie Derron and Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown securing silver and bronze respectively.
Victor Wembanyama overcame a slow middle stretch and an apparent injury scare to score 18 points, including eight in overtime, to lead France to a 94-90 victory over Japan at the Paris Olympics. The game was tied at 84 going into overtime, and Wembanyama ensured France would escape with the win.
Zacarias Moussaoui, the ’20th hijacker’ convicted for his role in the 9/11 attacks, has requested to be transferred from a U.S. Supermax prison to France. He claims he fears a potential Trump administration might execute him. Lawmakers, however, have condemned his request and demanded his imprisonment in the U.S. for the rest of his life.
French authorities are investigating possible involvement of ultra-left movements in attacks that disrupted the rail network during the Olympic Games. New acts of sabotage targeting fiber optic cables have added to concerns, leading to the arrest of an activist and multiple investigations.
France, already dealing with transportation disruptions ahead of the Paris Olympics, has been hit by vandalism targeting telecommunication lines across multiple cities. The attack, which affected fiber and mobile phone lines, comes just days after arson attacks on train networks. While the full impact of the telecommunications disruption remains unclear, authorities are working to restore services and have arrested an ultra-left activist in connection with previous railway sabotage.
France secured its first gold medal of the Paris Olympics, and its first ever in men’s rugby sevens, with a dominant 28-7 victory over two-time defending champion Fiji. Antoine Dupont, playing in his first Olympic tournament, was the hero, leading the French team to victory with two tries and an assist. Fiji, who had won all 17 of its previous Olympic matches, fell short in its attempt to win a third consecutive gold medal.
France, led by the brilliant performance of Victor Wembanyama, defeated Brazil 78-66 on the opening day of the men’s Olympic basketball tournament. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece suffered a 86-79 loss to Canada. Other notable results include Germany’s comfortable victory over Japan and Australia’s win against Spain.
The Indian men’s doubles team of Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji had their first-round match at the Paris 2024 Olympics postponed due to rain. They were scheduled to play against French duo Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin on an outside court at Roland-Garros.
French rail company SNCF has announced that train services will resume normal operations from Monday following emergency repairs to tracks sabotaged ahead of the Paris Olympics. While service disruptions impacted around 160,000 travelers this weekend, the SNCF anticipates full restoration of operations by Monday. The coordinated arson attacks on Friday targeted cabling boxes at strategic junctions, impacting high-speed lines connecting Paris to Lille, Brittany, and Strasbourg. While some routes are expected to experience delays into Sunday, the SNCF is working diligently to restore services to normalcy.
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony faces a 70-80% chance of moderate to heavy rain, according to French weather channel forecasts. Despite uncertainty about the storm’s trajectory, organizers are preparing for potential downpours as hundreds of thousands gather for the event.
