Raymond Depardon's Olympic photos go on show in Paris
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00:00Next to City Hall, in the heart of Paris, Raymond Depardon gazes up at two-time gold
00:09medalist Lee Evans, fist raised to the sky.
00:14The photographer took this legendary shot at the 1968 Games in Mexico.
00:20He explains that, no matter the city or the era, the Olympics are always political.
00:27I am a photographer of the decolonization era.
00:31I started in 1960 and was told, hey, go to Algeria, Independent Ivory Coast, Senegal.
00:38And so I took all these photos there.
00:43Then as I covered the Olympics, I saw the Africans arrive at the Games, and it was magnificent.
00:50Sixteen enormous prints are displayed in the streets of Paris and around Olympic venues.
00:56The goal?
00:57To take the public on an enduring photographic journey, and tell the stories behind the shots.
01:07We had to decide on 16 locations, sometimes glass surfaces, sometimes walls, sometimes
01:12scaffolding.
01:13When we put the photos up, we immediately got the feeling of something more alive, of
01:17being in an open-air exhibition, a free museum.
01:22On each of the photos, you have a QR code.
01:23You scan it, and you get Raymond, who explains the shot to you.
01:29I took this photo in Munich, the 4-by-400-meter relay.
01:33What we don't see is the German who fell, who was in the lead since the beginning of
01:37the race, cheered on by the crowd, the whole stadium standing, screaming.
01:43And a few meters from the finish line, he falls and collapses, and the Frenchman takes
01:48his place.
01:55And then there was silence.
01:56I can still remember it.
02:01To pass the baton to the next generation, the city of Paris asked Raymond's son, photographer
02:07Simon Depardon, to produce a portrait series of French athletes competing this year.
02:15This is a photo of Mejdi Schlach.
02:17His speciality is climbing, bouldering in particular.
02:21And I like this photo because we feel the weight of the responsibility this young athlete
02:25carries with all of France behind him.
02:28He is very young, and he has incredible rigor.
02:31He is extremely strong.
02:33Father and son united on the walls of Paris.
02:36An experience of immense joy and great pride.