Millions of French football fans celebrated in delirious joy on Sunday as France beat Croatia 4-2 to win football's World Cup in a pulsating final in Moscow that sparked ecstatic scenes from Paris to Marseille and beyond.
Fan Linda Bourja summed it up to the New York Times by saying "once in a while, we are united, we are one country, one people".
In Paris, where 90,000 people gathered next to the Eiffel tower to watch the match on vast TV screens, there were choruses of the Marseillaise, honking horns and hundreds of thousands of red, white and blue French flags fluttering in the breeze.
The boom of fireworks and firecrackers filled the air and car drivers honked their horns incessantly to celebrate France's second world title after their triumph on home soil in 1998.
French supporters gather on the Champs-Elysees avenue after the victory of France at the FIFA World Cup 2018 final match Source: AAP
A deafening chorus of "We are the champions, We are the champions" rang out from the Sacre Coeur in the north of the city to the Sorbonne on the Left Bank.
Even before the final whistle, crowds streamed on to the Champs Elysees, the elegant, tree-lined boulevard that runs up to the Arc de Triomphe, the traditional gathering place for celebration, including the Bastille Day parade 24 hours earlier.
"It's just astonishing what they've done," said Josh, 41, who travelled from Brittany to Paris to watch the match.
"Pogba, Mbappe, Grizou (Griezmann) -- they're on top of the world," he said, naming three of the standout players.
"We're the champions of the world! It's phenomenal, just phenomenal."
Even football fans who were not rooting for France but found themselves in the French capital for the game were overcome by the occasion and the amazing scenes of celebration.
"France was not my team but I am so pleased for them today," said Sarah, a 24-year-old from Birmingham in England who is studying medicine in Paris.
In this picture taken from the terrace of the Publicis Group people take the streets around the Arc de Triomphe to celebrate France's World Cup victory Source: AAP
"The players just showed something special all along, something that I liked, and I was not sure they would win today but they did. A lot of people are going to be drunk, if not already."
French television channels showed scenes of celebration in Marseille and across the south of France while in Moscow, where tens of thousands of fans travelled to watch the game, together with President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, there were tears of joy among the sea of red, white and blue.
"It’s amazing,” said Brioche Pasquier, 57, a supporter inside the Luzhniki Stadium for the match. “I am happy. I arrived to Moscow this morning specially for the final.”
France coach Didier Deschamps was full of praise for his team despite signs of nerves at the start of the game and several missed opportunities during it.
"It is really beautiful. It is marvellous. We did not play a great match, but we showed a strong mental quality," Deschamps said.
