The closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympics Games leaned fully into French electronic music, and with dazzling results.
The ceremony, which happened at Paris’ Stade De France on Sept. 8, assembled not only athletes, but a legendary crew of French dance producers that included the pioneering Jean Michel Jarre, Ed Banger founder Busy P, dance-pop master Martin Solveig, Kavinsky — whose 2010 classic “Nightcall” experienced a streaming surge when he also performed it at the Closing Ceremony of the 2024 Olympics Games — and other French Touch stars including Étienne de Crécy, DJ Falcon and Alan Braxe, Breakbot, Irfane, Chloé Caillet and more.
The ceremony also included the first performance from Cassius’ Boombass since the duo’s Philippe Zdar died in 2019 after an accidental fall.
The artists assembled played many of their classics, with Breakbot performing their 2010 era-defining hit “Baby I’m Yours,” while an assistant held an umbrella over a very sharply dressed Irfane as he delivered the vocals. Solveig lit up the stadium with pyro while playing his 2011 hit “Hello,” and the night reached a euphoric peak with the play of Daft Punk’s enduring “One More Time.”
“I see you my Malaysian, English and Ukrainian friends!” Busy P wrote on Instagram in a post of images from the rainy night. “If you still wonder what French Touch is, this is it! It’s us, you, them! Reuniting 24 DJs coming from various worlds, breaking boundaries is French Touch! Being emotional and dance at the same time to celebrate our brothers DJ Mehdi & Zdar is French Touch! Partying hard despite heavy rain is French Touch! Wearing cheap plastic ponchos on top of our Louis Vuitton suits is French Touch! Doing conga line while French techno queen [Anetha] is hammering le Stade de France is French Touch!
“French Touch is not only a music genre,” he concluded. “It’s a state of mind. I salute and send warm kisses to all my fellow DJs who embraced that feeling Sunday night.”
See photos from the night below.
Fireworks light up the Stade de France as French singer Santa performs during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games on Sept. 8, 2024 in Paris, France.
Jean-Michel Jarre salutes the crowd from the stage during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France.
DJ Falcon and French DJ Alan Braxe perform on stage during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, in the outskirts of Paris, on September 8, 2024.
Chloe Caillet performs during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France.
Boston Bun, French DJ, performs during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France.
Breakbot & Irfane during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France.
Kungs, French DJ and Record Producer, performs during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France.
Anetha performs during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on Sept. 8, 2024 in Paris, France.
This photograph shows fireworks fired on the roof of the Stade de France at the end of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony, in Saint-Denis, in the outskirts of Paris, on Sept. 8, 2024.
Busy P performs during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France.
DJ Cassius performs on stage during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, in the outskirts of Paris, on September 8, 2024.
Etienne de Crecy, French DJ, performs during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France.
French DJ Kavinsky performs on stage during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, in the outskirts of Paris, on September 8, 2024.
Polo & Pan perform during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France.
French athletes reacts on stage during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, in the outskirts of Paris, on Sept. 8, 2024.