Streets across France "filled with cheering crowds, tricolore flags and the sound of car horns as the country celebrated its second World Cup victory," according to Chassany & Agnew of the FINANCIAL TIMES. On Sunday evening in Paris, hundreds of thousands of fans "delirious with joy" turned the Champs Elysées avenue into a "giant party" when Les Bleus beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow, "claiming the trophy back" two decades after winning the football championship at home. It was a scene "replicated throughout France from Montpellier to Strasbourg, Nice and Lille." The display of "collective joy echoed the 1998 win," when the country celebrated its “black blanc beur” ethnically diverse football team that beat Brazil 3-0, "heralding a period of national unity." The victory "could boost economic growth" by 0.1 percentage point this year, as households "could be inclined to spend more," according to economists at Euler Hermes. There "could be positive political fallout" for President Emmanuel Macron too, whose approval ratings have fallen below 40% in the past weeks. In '98, Jacques Chirac "recovered in the polls, but the feel-good effect lasted only a few years." On Sunday, on a packed Champs Elysées, the air "filed with waving tricolores and the smell of firecrackers and red, white and blue smoke." Some stood on top of bus tops or newspaper kiosks to get a better view (FT, 7/15). REUTERS' Bate Felix reported a day after the nation celebrated Bastille Day with a late-night fireworks display over the Eiffel Tower, "large numbers congregated in the same spot" to watch the final. One of the biggest TV screens "imaginable" -- 140 square meters and adapted to be watched in broad daylight -- was "installed at the foot of the tower, with several others arranged to the sides around a vast green space." The fanzone, with capacity for 90,000 people, was "full to the brim" four hours before kickoff, with "many more unable to get in," officials said. The mood was festive with beer cans being shared and the "whiff of marijuana filling the air." Sarah, who came with six university friends, said, "The atmosphere is electric. Everyone is here for France to win. It does not matter if we do not see the screen, we have our phones, we have water and we are together -- that's what's important, everyone here has so much desire for victory" (REUTERS, 7/15).
