A short walk from the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, on the road towards Paris, there are wild scenes. It is the night before the Champions League final and a youth tournament has been interrupted by the arrival of Zinedine Zidane.
The nearby stadium was the scene of his two goals against Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final, the occasion that sealed his status as a French hero. For the crowd gathered at the five-a-side pitch named in his honour, he is one of them.
Chants of Zizou soon fill the air. The event has been organised by adidas but the passion feels authentic enough. The youngsters have come from the various arrondissements of Paris to showcase their skills - and those skills are frequently eye-catching.
The games are quick, the tempo quicker. Teams include Pirate FC and FC Tiki Taka, while the entire tournament - games last for only 10 minutes - is played out against a backdrop of noise, the accompanying beat from the resident DJ providing the rhythm.
Tournaments such as these are not unusual in Paris. Next month, Tonsser, the popular app designed to give amateurs the opportunity to log their performances, will hold an event featuring 90 unsigned players, allowing them to compete against the top clubs.
It was at the Vinci Cup near Paris in 2019 that Tonsser, the brainchild of two Danish students, assembled a scratch team of unsigned teenagers that earned a result against Paris Saint-Germain's strongest U15 team. It was indicative of the depth of talent.
It speaks to their hunger too. The statistics about academy players who do not make it are alarming but games such as the one Zidane presided over on Friday evening and the exploits of that Tonsser team three years ago are a reminder that many others still dream.
In the arrondissements of Paris, football is hope. "If I were to be rude about Denmark," Tonsser co-founder Peter Holm tells Sky Sports, "we don't have that aspiration because we are born into a system that is so safe and secure. We don't necessarily have that grind.
"Sometimes I think Tonsser is best made for those countries where it is built into their hopes, dreams and aspirations. That is why it is suited to France. Here, you have too many good players given how many clubs you have.
"When I see French football today, I see many similarities with the favela football in Brazil. There is this urban trend with people playing on the streets. There is this exciting culture around football. This street football in the districts around Paris is flourishing.
"In the bigger cities, players do not necessarily have access to playing fields so how do you build that skill-set, that culture, that humour among players? It is the DNA of modern football today that we are seeing in Paris. It sort of ticks all the boxes."
Identifying this talent is not always straightforward for clubs such as PSG. "Things are complicated when they stay in their bubble," says Fournier. But in a city with an estimated population in excess of 13 million there are many who are breaking through.
Examples are plentiful. Eight of the 2018 World Cup-winning squad learned the game in and around Paris and that does not include players such as Riyad Mahrez, the Algeria international and four-time Premier League winner who grew up in Sarcelles.
He was set for a poignant return to Paris when he scored against Real Madrid in the semi-final. That was not to be but Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate has made it. He grew up in the 11th arrondissement, fashioning balls from paper and tape, playing in the cages.
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