1924

Much to the delight of Baron de Coubertin, Paris was given a second chance to host the Olympics in 1924, which also saw the staging of the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. The second Paris Games were well attended, with athletes from 44 nations taking part, as opposed to the previous record of 29. Competition was of a very high standard. However, the fanaticism of Parisian sports fans led to several outrages, including booing during the playing of national anthems of other countries and numero us incidents during the boxing and fencing tournaments. The French, who never had a very high opinion of their neighbours were particularly irritated by the Americans, since the US government had only recently criticised the French occupation of the Ruhr. During a rugby match between France and the United States, an American art student was severely caned by an incensed French spectator who had become annoyed by the loud US ``rooting''.