ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on the French media coverage of the Beijing Olympic games. Based on the analysis of a set of themes, this article points the fact that most of the French media described the Beijing games as ‘huge’ games; however, their feelings remained ambivalent. Indeed, French people experienced the Beijing Olympic Games in a particular context, which significantly influenced their vision of the event. The Beijing Olympics were an indisputable success speaking of sport, of technical and organizational aspects. But the political and human assessment, which was drawn up by the media, was in half tones. Whereas the work of the journalists was carried out completely normally within the framework of the Olympic event, some reticence was expressed about the political and human aspects of the event: the distrust towards the Chinese political regime remained strong.
