Paris 2024

After the hotel television mysteriously activated at 2 am, combined with the noise of the generator outside the window, my sleep was not great. We managed to be up, out, and in the Eurostar terminal by 5 am. The terminal is too small for the number of people, even before dawn. But we were onboard and on the way to Paris on time. We had a light breakfast and strong coffee served on board. I dozed a little until we arrived at Gare du Nord.

Yesterday, we bought a Paris transit pass capable of being loaded onto phones or watches. It required activation, which I assumed would be difficult, but it wasn’t. We were straight into the metro and then off at Concorde—no paper or cash required.

Before heading to the stadium complex, we wanted to glimpse something Olympic in central Paris. We considered the Paralympic logo on the Arc de Triomphe or the grounds around the Eiffel Tower. Finally, we decided to go and see the Paralympic Flame in its balloon-cauldron at Jardin des Tuileries. Despite the rain, the fact that most of the garden is barricaded and inaccessible, and that the balloon only rises at night, we were delighted to have seen the flame in the heart of Paris. Then, it was a dash undercover and back onto RER C heading south. We hopped around the transport system for the fastest connection, taking Metro 13 to Porte de Vanves and a 1.4 km walk to the venue.

By 10:50 am, security and bag searches were quick and easy when we located the correct entrance. We found ourselves in the middle of the South Paris Arena (part of the Paris Expo exhibition centre), where we could move between three halls hosting different sports.

We started with Boccia. On the courts were eight matches. The French teams were playing, so the locals created a buzzing atmosphere. Unfortunately, we saw GB lose to Korea in BC3 mixed pairs and China in mixed team BC1/2. I have always been fascinated by the precision achieved in eliminating the opposition's position; there was so much skill on show.

Then, we went to another pavilion for Goalball, where we watched two of the women’s quarter-finals: China v France and Canada v Israel. The atmosphere for the first game, featuring the French team, was electric. Sadly, they were beaten by a considerable margin. Some of their gameplay was predictable, and you could tell the Chinese had worked that out, but it was only after lunch, when we watched the second game, that I saw teams who varied their play more. It was a much closer and, therefore, exciting game.

Lunch was my biggest disappointment of the day. That may be why the security team reminded us we could leave the arena for lunch and return. The on-site selection of baguettes was small. Somehow, I’d expected more selection. Nonetheless, my chicken version was substantial, if a bit flavourless.

Towards the end of the day, we saw Para Table Tennis. There was so much going on in the arena with six visible courts that it was hard to keep up. The local crowd was there for Matéo Bohéas, who sadly lost to Poland’s Patryk Chojnowski. There was another loud “allez les bleus” fandom behind every point scored. I can’t imagine what it must be like playing with a crowd like that supporting you (or even against you - although Patryk played to the crowd at the end).

We also saw GB’s Robert Davies beat Korea’s Kim Hakjin in an incredibly close and thrilling (from a spectator’s perspective) game that went to complete five sets and the first three games of Will Bayley’s match against German Björn Schnake. It was two games to one and very close, but we had to leave to get the return train. We learned that Will took the next game to win the match.

There was plenty of other action; I wish I could have watched more. The ticket we had, which allowed access to multiple halls and matches, was great value, and the ease of movement between the three venues in a single location made it simple to watch many sports. I wish we’d been able to buy more tickets and spend more days in Paris.

Ultimately, we had much time to pass while waiting for the train. I bought us a beer and a pastry, all the time thinking we could have had another twenty minutes at the tennis and watched GB win the game. The train home was uneventful, although there was wine, which made it pleasant and relaxing.