STANDING ON THE BRIDGE FOR 2 HOURS WAITING FOR OUR ATHLETES

The Olympics in France! Our best athletes have gone to Paris to represent our country, to fight bravely and honourably for every point and victory so that our national anthem, “O God of Justice," can be proudly heard as often as possible. The official opening of the 2024 Olympics took place on Friday, where the organisers put on a spectacular show, and our representatives sailed down the Seine on boats.

The boat with the Serbian national team and a video recording caused great excitement across the nation. In the video, a young man, a member of the Foreign Legion, can be seen waving to our top athletes, greeting them and symbolically raising three fingers. Our national team were not indifferent to this gesture and greeted him back with the well-known Serbian salute.

Kurir now reveals the identity of the young man, proud of Serbia in a foreign land, who, in his Foreign Legion uniform, showed support for our athletes as they sailed down the Seine. The man in question is Aleksandar P., who has been a member of the Foreign Legion for the past three years. A friend of Aleksandar P. described to Kurir how the video that delighted everyone came to be.

"That day, his group had finished their patrol, their job. They were in the area where the boats with the Olympians were turning on the river Seine. There were about 90 boats. He then asked his superior if he could stay and watch the parade. His superior is a patriot, and he allowed him to, so he waited to see our athletes," his friend began and continued:

"As he told me, he stood on that little bridge for two hours just to see our athletes. 'I was proud when I saw the boat, even more so because one of the Olympians is from my hometown of Bečej.' With these words, he described to me how he greeted our athletes with deep pride and raised three fingers. He said he felt the greatest pride when they greeted him back with the same gesture. He told me he is proud of what he did, even though he might be punished by the Foreign Legion for it, but he doesn't regret it and says he would do it all again."

Everyone is tipping their hats to Aleksandar P. for the patriotism he displayed on Friday at the opening of the Olympics in Paris. His friend also explained why Aleksandar decided to join the ranks of the Foreign Legion.

"He served in our army for about three years, first in Sremska Mitrovica, where he served as a tank operator for about 11 months, and then he worked as a scout in Novi Sad. After several unsuccessful attempts to get a higher rank, he decided to apply for the Foreign Legion. He got into their unit on his second attempt, as their requirements are very rigorous," he said and added:

"He applied out of curiosity; he always told me he wanted something more, a new experience. He wanted to test himself, and I know it was very hard for him at the beginning — the tests, the living conditions there aren't easy — but over time, things improve, especially when you learn the language; everything becomes easier. Now he is a sniper in his unit and has been in the Foreign Legion for three years."

As his sniper friend explained to us, he has two years left in the unit, but Aleksandar told him that he will definitely return to Serbia one day.