Covid-19 seems thing of the past at full-capacity French Open stadiums
They sipped from glasses of Champagne or ros while seated on the sand-colored cushions of wicker couches on a "terrasse" overlooking some smaller courts at Roland Garros.
They crowded walkways and stood in lines dozens deep for waffles painted with Nutella or baguettes layered with ham, cheese and butter and, sometimes, they gave up on those waits that could take 15 minutes or more.
In the stands, they wore their white hats and cried Allez!" and punctuated points with rhythmic clapping. They took etiquette-breaching strolls through the stadium aisles during play. Most of all, and most important of all, they were there.
The crowds at the French Open were back to their no-mask, no-distancing, full-capacity, pre-pandemic levels Sunday for the start of this year's edition, as much a part of the fabric of the event as the red clay that defines the Grand Slam tournament.
A really festive atmosphere, observed Alice Dufour, a 21-year-old who was part of a group trip from her Miramont tenn