PARIS, July 3 (Reuters) - France made a triumphant entry to the heart of Paris on Monday for a champagne welcome from tens of thousands of fans.

Just as the Italian soccer team threatened to spoil France's show for so long on Sunday night, so torrential storms which lashed the French capital risked washing out the party for the winners of Sunday's dramatic Euro 2000 final.

But just in time the clouds parted, leaving the victorious French team, gathered on the balcony of the plush Hotel Crillion, and thousands of cheering fans, massed in the Place de la Concorde, bathed in golden sunshine.

Chanting 'On est champions' (We are the champions), supporters let off fireworks, blared horns and waved French and a smattering of Algerian flags.

Initially a modest 15,000, the crowd quickly swelled to 35,000, according to the police, filling the large square at one end of the Champs Elysee avenue.

The team appeared on the balcony, relaxed in white and green T-shirts, dancing and clapping with the jubiLant crowd as captain Didier Deschamps raised the cup, flanked by Youri Djorkaeff and Fabien Barthez.

Massed on the balcony with wives and girlfriends beneath a huge French jersey drapped down the facade of the hotel, the players sprayed champagne and flung T-shirts with the slogan 'Victory is in us - still' into the crowd.

It was a significant day for some players. Emmanuel Petit got married, Zinedine Zidane shaved his already sparse head of hair for a bet and Robert Pires signed a four-year contract with English premier league club Arsenal.

One of the biggest cheers came as blonde supermodel Adriana Karembeu, wife of Christian Karembeu, appeared on the balcony.

Italy were just 70 seconds from victory in Sunday's final in Rotterdam before Sylvain Wiltord brought the French back from the brink with an equaliser im injury time. David Trezeguet won the match for France with a 103rd minute 'golden goal.'

For those present on Monday the French team's success symbolised two things - a renewed belief that France can win, whether on the soccer pitch or in the world of business, and a sense of unity in a multi-cultural society.

'People used to make fun of France, we always finished second. This is a France that wins, finally. And we see it in many areas - business, the economy and notably the new economy,' said a Parisian businesswoman who gave her name as Francoise.

The victory of the French team, which includes players with West African, North African and Caribbean origins, in the 1998 World Cup first spawned comparisons with modern-day society in the former colonial power.

'It reflects the country today, a combination of cultures, a group of friends. That's what makes the team so strong,' said 29-year-old Senegalese student Djibril Ndoye.

Sporting an Arsenal shirt - 'it's my favourite English club' - Boudjema, a 22-year-old student with Algerian origins who lives in Paris, said the French victories had let people from different backgrounds meet and talk to each other.

'The team symbolises many things. The players are young, like me and it's a mixture of blacks, Arabs and French. There are so many different cultures,' he said.

'It reflects France since the World Cup. It reflects France today.'