Silence descends over the huge square in front of Paris' City Hall, and the crowd awaits a cliffhanger. They've been gathering since midday, holding their breath while waiting for the news from Singapore to be announced on the giant screen. All of France is with them. Then, with horror, a gasp -- the impossible happens. London, the abominable rival and capital of Britannia, wins, and glory slips away from the city of light.

Within minutes the square was empty. Victory parties were cancelled, and in their place came a requiem for a dream. Mixed with the disappointment was a feeling of a deep injustice -- after all, everything had seemed just so perfect. Preparations, public support, the final morning presentation in Singapore -- all had been well received. And everyone had been convinced that their city deserved the Games, almost as if it had a moral right to them. Now duped and deceived, those who supported the bid were asking themselves, "How could it all have gone so wrong?"

It was the third loss for Paris since it last hosted the Olympics in 1924, having failed in 1986 and 2001. Even worse, it was probably the last time the city will have a chance for a bid in the near future: after the 2012 Games in London, candidates will most likely come from outside of Europe.

A huge blow to Chirac

President Jacques Chirac learned of the disaster on the long flight from Singapore to Scotland, where he will be meeting with other world leaders at the G8 Summit. He had personally supported the bid before the International Olympic Committee that very morning, and the decision must have hit him like a punch in the stomach. France, he said earlier, wanted to take up the Olympic flame. The loss meant yet another blow to the embattled head of state.

First there was France's rejection of the European Constitution, then the failure to agree on an EU budget in Brussels, and now the humiliation of a botched Olympic bid. Chirac, who for most of his career was considered a great political survivor, has seen one bad turn of events after another. With him, France's spirit is slipping into depression, with its reputation following close behind.