Paris’ Paralympic Mascot Has A Very Cool Detail You May Have Missed

The 2024 Paris Olympics’ mascot may have been mocked, but here’s hoping the Paralympics’ version gets a tad more love.
During Wednesday’s opening ceremony, French organizers wanted everyone who was watching to be well aware that the Phryges — the smiling, red revolutionary hats that some feel resemble a part of the female anatomy — were back for the Paralympic games by having a car decorated with oodles of them drive up during the opening performance.
Despite the backlash that the Phryges received during the Paris Olympic Games, social media users on X, formerly Twitter, were stoked by their over-the-top reintroduction at the Paralympic Games — albeit, some expressed their joy a bit sarcastically.
This phryge covered car at the Paralympics opening ceremony is a nightmare.. and I love it.
The Phrygemobile goes so hard#Paralympics2024#OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/dzhQOUQiGc
I need this Phryge car in a way that can only be expressed with primal screeches
Paralympics opening ceremony starting strong with the Phyrge car 🚗 #Paralympiques2024 pic.twitter.com/KYkW04WG2r
But before you decide to engage in some Phryges bashing 2.0, you may want to take a gander at their slight — and very cool — redesign for the Paralympic Games.
The Paralympic Phryge has a prosthesis and a racing blade so it can act as “a role model for many” and provide “maximum visibility to people with disabilities,” per the Paris Olympics official site.
The doll version of the Paralympic Phryges goes a step further with its inclusivity.
“Under the sole of the shoe, Paris 2024 is written in braille to showcase the importance of accessibility,” the official Paralympic site says.
And it appears that the message in braille also appears under the foot with the blade — at least according to some social media posts.
The thoughtful details also nail down the idea that disabled Phryges aren’t that much different from non-disabled Phryges.
And much like Olympic Phryges and non-disabled Olympians, the Paralympic Phryges seem to be just as ardent about the Olympic Village’s now famous chocolate muffins — and what bridges differences more than that?
Phrygey LOVES the muffins.