Christina Lionnet
I came back to see the Games, but also to meet up with old friends in a city I love,' said Lionnet, who moved back to Paris 18 months ago after working in Beijing as a freelance journalist for nearly four years.
'Paris to me is like a fossil - it's nice, but it doesn't change at all. Beijing is so much more dynamic. Here there is a feeling of enthusiasm and things moving,' she said, praising the innovative new buildings that have sprung up throughout the capital during her absence.
'I arrived at the new Terminal 3, which is amazing. Other new buildings, especially the CCTV tower, are really beautiful, but also inventive and technically impressive.
'But the most unexpected change I've found is in people's behaviour. When you take the subway or a bus, people queue up now.
'These new habits are much more of a surprise than the new buildings. The Beijing government has clearly made a big effort to improve behaviour.'
Another unexpected development has been the heightened sense of civic and national pride evident in the thousands of 'I love China' T-shirts being worn on Beijing's streets.