From Our Man in Paris -

As a special treat for the inspectors of the Olympic Committee, in Paris to evaluate the city's ability to host the games in 2012, the Friday night roller rando glided down the Champs-Elysées wearing blue glitter-bands. Its slope is considered to be too steep for safety, but 5000 skaters took it in stride about midnight before skating back to their starting point in Montparnasse.

For 'security' reasons, the prefecture arranged for the inspectors to be dining at the Elysée Palace, which they left before the rollers passed near it. Thus the inspectors failed to witness Tuesday's student demonstration against government 'reforms,' didn't see any state researchers protesting on Wednesday, and were shepherded to the opposite side of Paris during Thursday's massive strike 'against nearly everything.'

If for no other reason, Paris should be awarded the games for its ability to simultaneously carry on as normal while being seriously disrupted - even though nobody ever demonstrates in Paris during the Olympic Game months of July and August. We are on holidays then.

From Just Above Sunset –

This is a controversy? 

Armstrong endorses Paris 2012 bid

CNN - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 Posted: 1:01 PM EST (1801 GMT)

PARIS, France (AP) -- Paris presented details of its bid for the 2012 Olympics on Tuesday, saying athletes would be housed close to venues that would leave a sporting legacy for the French capital.

On the first day of a four-day visit by IOC evaluators, Paris also picked up a key endorsement from an unexpected source -- six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

"I think Paris deserves the Olympics," the Texan said before Wednesday's leg of the Paris-Nice race.

Emmanuelle Richard, a French journalist I once met out here – who covers things out this way for France Info, France Inter, Radio France Internationale (RFI), Radio Suisse Romande, and French publications Max, Libération, the cultural monthly Epok and the Swiss weekly, L'Hebdo – in her blog notes that the New York Post went to town on this.  (The Post is owned by Rupert Murdoch who also owns Fox News.)  She refers to the Post item and posts the picture that accompanies it – a doctored image of Armstrong on his bicycle on the Champs Elysées in a beret and wearing an Axel of Weasel t-shirt.  Yeah, yeah.

The Post article from the 10^th is here – TRAITOUR DE FRANCE - by Andy Geller

It opens with the classic line – “He dumped his wife and now he's turned his back on his country.”  Well, he was divorced an few years ago after five years of marriage. And he’s now dating Sheryl Crow.  He’s just not a Red State type, you see.

And you know where this is going.

You get the idea.

Armstrong, who hails from Austin, Texas, made his comments in interviews with the Paris daily Le Parisien and the Associated Press.

The turncoat bicyclist spoke on the same day that the 13-member International Olympic Committee evaluation commission began assessing Paris' bid for the games.

The wheely weasel said he thought the City of Light was the best candidate for the 2008 games…

Turncoat bicyclist?  Wheely weasel?  But someone should tell Andy that Austin isn’t really Texas – it’s the one liberal town in the state.  Molly Ivins writes from there.

Oh well, it’s just an opinion piece, and right-wing humor.

A more balanced view is here at Le Nouvel Observateur – but it’s in French and to read it you have to know French.  Lance does.  Real Americans don’t.