Like a French film, it was genius and difficult, but a fitting end

True to type, the organisers of the Paris Olympics served up a closing ceremony that was both genius and difficult. Like a French film, it was slow, and some people walked out. But if you’re a fan of French cinema, you stayed until the end, and the only part you didn’t like was that which was beamed in from Hollywood.

For those who watched the closing ceremony at the Stade de France, the end of the Paris Olympics began with a demonstration of force from France’s police, the Gendarmerie. The games have been mercifully free of terror attacks, save for the hard left blowing up TGV railway lines on the eve of the opening. No one was going to stumble at the final pass.