The world during this summer period seems to be falling into a kind of Olympic torpor. However, the "opening ceremony" of the Paris Olympics resulted in a rude awakening for supporters and opponents alike, due to certain scenes that disturbed or shocked part of the world watching the "City of Light". The eyes of Chimène have lost their sparkle. "Wokism" is creeping in everywhere with determination and media bombardment. The media, indeed, no longer seem concerned with the terrible fate of the Gazans, the Ukrainian population, or the future of Taiwan.

Only a few articles revisit the highly contested re-election of Maduro in Venezuela. In Mali, Russian Wagner paramilitaries suffered their first significant defeat in a Francophone Africa from which France has retreated. The Russians and Chinese, who are tapping into the mineral resources of many countries, do not carry the guilt of the former French colonizer.

The world drifts into sleep with certainty amidst its doubts, instability, and torpor. Yet wars continue, the world is torn apart. Time suspends its flight waiting for the American presidential election plane to land next November. The French Olympic interlude will only be fleeting and merely appears to mask global wounds. Seeing Emmanuel Macron in Paris, smiling calmly, one might forget that he has plunged his country into the worst political crisis France has ever faced.

But such is life, that people, since the dawn of civilizations, have needed bread and circuses. The Olympic rings are like a blindfold over the eyes of these people, rendered blind by the beauty of universal sport. But when the rings dissipate and the "bread" is lacking, the people will return to their anxieties. The rulers know this well. Awakenings are sometimes brutal.

The world today is still a volcano in action, merely pretending to have fallen asleep.