Just a four-hour train ride from Milan on the Italy-French border is the beautiful coastal city of Menton, France.
This city, which has a rich culture intertwined with the identity of the French Riviera, is seemingly unconcerned with the 2026 Olympic Games happening in its backyard, but why is that?
Although France recently hosted the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, it is widely understood among Europeans that interest in sports has declined over time. The French place greater emphasis on intellect, learning, and community.
A day trip to Menton highlighted the decentralization of sport, with more Italians than French in the city; there was nothing to suggest the Olympics were across the street.
In fact, the biggest event of the year is happening in unison with the Games, an annual Lemon Festival.
The tradition, which began in 1928, transforms the city into a colorful display of citrus art with this year’s theme, “The Wonders of Life.” The fruit statues sit in the heart of town and tower over most buildings, making them hard to miss and easily drawing crowds, mostly European travelers, to the south of France.
The history of the French and sport is complicated.
There was a point in time when writers in the 1600s poked fun at the number of tennis courts in France, noting there were more “courts than churches.” But French culture has long balanced competition with a deeper appreciation for philosophy and the everyday quality of life.
Sports were considered prestigious, with tennis and fencing as prominent examples, and they rose in popularity before those same values began to clash with the growing scale and accessibility of modern sport. Most notably, this tension surfaced during the Paris Olympics, when residents protested aspects of the Games, including environmental concerns about water quality in the Seine River and the broader impact of hosting the global event.
It’s clear that French identity is not easily reshaped, even by something as powerful and consuming as the Olympics, a stark contrast from its neighboring communities, and especially noticeable to American visitors whose sense of community is so deeply rooted in sport. The city is not competing for Olympic attention or trying to mirror the energy of the Games. Instead, it continues to invest in the traditions and experiences that have defined it long before the world arrived in the region.
While excitement for the Olympics in Milan can be found on every street corner, pride takes a different form in Menton. Citrus plushies, lemon-themed wallpapers, and decorations line storefronts, but what remains between the two events is the ability to bring people together; a constant reminder that, despite their differences, community remains the common thread between the regions.
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