Our photographer Tom Jenkins has toured the capital and visited some of its most renowned spots during the Games

When the Paris Olympics chose the slogan “Games wide open”, it was about more than just bringing sport out of stadiums and on to city-centre streets.

Creating temporary venues in astonishing settings – from beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower to skateboarding at the Place de la Concorde – allowed France to avoid the cumbersome “white elephant” building projects of the past, and present a greener Games.

Medal success has offered the president welcome weeks of respite in his country’s fraught political climate – but what happens when the athletes go home?

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is famed for his enthusiastic hugging of sports stars – as the footballer Kylian Mbappé can attest. Macron walked on to the pitch, somewhat awkwardly pulled Mbappé to his chest and patted his head to console him after defeat to Argentina in the last World Cup.

But at the Paris Olympics, Macron’s touchy-feely approach to the nation’s athletes has exceeded anything that had gone before.

Drinks giant under fire for over-use of bottles and cups despite organisers’ promise of greenest ever Games

The Paris Olympics promised to be the most eco-friendly Games in history, reducing by half the amount of single-use plastic compared with London 2012.

French environmental groups, however, have criticised what they called a “bizarre” and “surreal” sight at certain venues’ drinks stands run by the main sponsor, Coca-Cola. Servers can be seen filling plastic reusable, so-called “eco-cups” from 50cl plastic bottles, amassing sacks of empty bottles for recycling.