We came home from holidays and went back to work. The Olympics were over, but the Games were not. Métro billboards showed athletes alongside the slogan “Games not over”. And they weren’t. The Paralympics were yet to come.

While the sites and the athletes’ village were adapted, we took advantage of the lull in visitors and stopped by the official store on the Champs Élysées, scoring limited edition shirts and, of course, the mascot.

The very ugly lone skyscraper in Paris, the Montparnasse Tower, was decorated with the effigy of Léon Marchand, France’s Olympic hero.