FEATURE There is a new Olympian God - and he's French

There is probably no more famous man in France today than Antoine Dupont. Emmanuel Macron ? He’s more infamous these days, given the plunge in the president’s approval ratings in recent years.

Dupont, on the other hand, is admired and respected by all, and his devastating impact off the bench in Saturday’s Olympics Sevens final has secured him a place in French sporting folklore

The sporting press naturally went wild over Dupont’s contribution to France’s 28-7 defeat of Fiji, but so did the rest of the media. Dupont has hardly been off the television in the last 48 hours, the Toulouse scrum-half in demand from broadcasters who want to milk the most marketable man in France at the moment.

This has not been a good year for the Republic, and that is some understatement. There’s a case for saying that 2024 is shaping up to be the most tumultuous 12 months since 1968, when France was engulfed by mass protests that led to the resignation of Charles de Gaulle the following year.

The country is in political chaos, with a caretaker government and a president who has urged the warring political factions to observe a ‘truce’ for the duration of the Olympics.
The politicians seem to be respecting the truce but whoever sabotaged the rail network last Friday isn’t. That act of vandalism got the Paris Olympics off to the worst possible start, and then the heavens opened on the Opening Ceremony to cap off an awful day for the French.

So the nation needed a lift and they got it on Saturday when Dupont inspired France to their first gold of the Games. It was also a morale boost for French rugby after the trauma of the recent national team’s tour to South America ; two players remain in Argentina after being arrested in connection with a violent rape of a woman in the squad’s hotel. The pair deny the charges.

Dupont and his teammates have put the pride back into French rugby, and for the scrum-half an Olympic gold caps an extraordinary year in which he was part of a Toulouse team that won the Top 14 and the Champions Cup.

Another player, Melvyn Jaminet, was sent home from the tour after posting a racist video online, an act for which he was last week banned for 34 weeks by the French Rugby Federation.

Dupont and his teammates have put the pride back into French rugby, and for the scrum-half an Olympic gold caps an extraordinary year in which he was part of a Toulouse team that won the Top 14 and the Champions Cup.

The only disappointment was last year’s RWC when Dupont suffered a fractured cheekbone in a pool game and, though he returned for the quarter-final against South Africa, he was not his usual domineering self.

THAT run alone could be worth a gold medal at any #Olympics 👏#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/LWEMOO5Fsr

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 27, 2024

But between now and the next RWC in 2027, the 27-year-old Dupont will probably establish himself as the most popular athlete in France. There was a time in the distant past when that accolade was reserved for cyclists, racing drivers or tennis players, but it’s been many years since France has produced any global champions in those fields.

In recent decades footballers have been the sporting role models for French kids : Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and, most recently, Kylian Mbappe.

Dupont’s signed deals with some big name sponsors but none of the fame or the fortune seems to have changed his what-you-see-is-what-you-get character

Mbappe was the darling of France when they won the World Cup in 2018, but his stock has fallen in recent seasons. He became a prima donna at Paris Saint Germain and when he left for Real Madrid at the end of last season few were that sad to see him go. As he ego rose so Mbappe’s form dipped and it’s been over a year since he last shone for the national team.
Like Mbappe, Dupont (who is two years older) made his international debut in 2017 but in all that time he has rarely had a bad game ; he has certainly never had a sustained dip in performance.

Nor does he show any sign of getting too big for his expensive boots. He’s signed deals with some big name sponsors – the sort who are more usually found collaborating with footballers or movie stars – but none of the fame or the fortune seems to have changed his what-you-see-is-what-you-get character. ‘He doesn’t have a big head, there have been no histrionics,’ said his Sevens’ teammate Jean-Pascal Barraque at the weekend.

France’s Sevens’ coach, Jérôme Daret, praised Dupont for his exemplary conduct since he joined the squad at the start of the year. He had never tried to throw his weight around, playing the big star among a group of players who were unknown in France outside the Sevens circuit. Dupont came to learn from them, and they obviously taught him well.

Less successful in instructing Dupont were the dancers from the legendary Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris. Last week they and the Sevens squad had a dance off, in front of the cameras, and for the first time in his life Dupont’s footwork let him down. He found it hilarious.

The French find him heroic. ‘He is more than an icon for French rugby,’ said Midi Olympique, in its editorial on Monday. ‘He is a source of pride. A blessing.’