France specialises in glum self-doubt. Has this joyful Olympics finally changed that? | Alexander Hurst

In Paris, I've seen a city drop its aloof cool for giddy cheering. Now that could transform the story France tells about itself

I'm hardly the only one to remark on the qualitative ways in which France has felt different over the past two weeks. Perhaps the Spanish newspaper El Pais said it best when it remarked that the country seems to have taken a vacation from itself", by which it meant that grumbling had been sidelined by unabashed joy.

The police could barely refrain from dancing, France TV's commentators couldn't hide their emotion, the live traffic information signs on the peripherique were all in for Leon Marchand, Snoop Dogg seemed to be everywhere all at once, Parisians who stayed in the city dropped their aloof cool for giddy cheering; Parisians who fled in advance found themselves wishing they had stayed. I heard the Marseillaise and throwback pop choruses alike spontaneously break out. Hospitality houses" set up by more than a dozen nations in Parc de la Villette hosted cheering fans from far more countries than just their own, mainly for free.

Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist