Paris faces the test this week of launching the Olympic Games safely and affordably at a time of war, political polarization and social unrest.
It’s not a done deal, though. Heavy-handed security barriers and COVID-style QR codes are already infuriating residents and tourists trying to navigate a River Seine that’s been cleaned at great expense.
Yet the real challenge will begin once the athletes have packed up and gone home. The world’s greatest city (okay, Top Five) must complete its gold-medal transformation into something greater: A megalopolis that binds the hipsters, financiers and flaneurs of historic, densely populated Paris to the sprawling regional economy where many Olympic events will actually take place.