The Olympic flame arrives in France in Marseille before the Paris 2024 Olympics – Firstpost

The Olympic flame arrived in France on Wednesday in Marseille aboard a 19th century ship in front of 150,000 spectators for a ceremony which constituted a first major test in terms of security for the organizers of the Paris 2024 Games. The flame was transported from Greece to the port in the south of France aboard the three-masted ship Belem, 79 days before the start of the Olympic Games.

As the ship entered the Old Port of Marseille with hundreds of small boats in tow, planes from the Patrouille de France demonstration team traced the Olympic rings in the sky before returning to paint red, the white and blue of the French flag.

Fireworks burst into the sky as the Belem docked after its 12-day journey from Greece, where the flame was lit in ancient Olympia on April 16.

Olympic gold medalist swimmer Florent Manaudou carried the torch from the deck of the ship.

Manaudou passed it to Paralympic champion sprinter Nantenin Keita, who passed the torch to French rapper Jul to light a cauldron.

🔥Landing for the Olympic flame!

Olympic champion swimmer @FlorentManaudou is the torchbearer who has the honor of carrying the Olympic flame on French soil. 🇫🇷
#OlympicTorchRelay | #Paris2024 | @Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/K39BONZIL3

– The Olympic Games (@Olympics) May 8, 2024

🔥🇫🇷

The moment we’ve all been waiting for: The Olympic flame is officially in France!
#OlympicTorchRelay | #Paris2024 | @Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/7UryiKx4h4

– The Olympic Games (@Olympics) May 8, 2024

The arrival of the flame marks the start of a 12,000 kilometer (7,500 mile) torch relay across France and its distant overseas territories.

Organizers hope the first public performance of the Games on French soil will help build enthusiasm after a row over Olympic ticket prices and concerns over security.

President Emmanuel Macron praised the “unprecedented effort” of security forces in Marseille and said, after seeing the flame arrive, that he hoped the Olympics would bring France together.

“I want our compatriots to imagine that this is a moment of unity and that we are capable of it and that we can be proud of it,” Macron said.

The chief organizer of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tony Estanguet, declared this week that “the Games are coming home.”

France, which last hosted the Olympics a century ago, considers itself at the heart of the modern Olympic movement after a French aristocrat, Pierre de Coubertin, revived the idea of ​​the Games as practiced by the Greeks until the 4th century BC.

After the Covid-hit Tokyo 2021 edition and the corruption-tainted Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, the Paris Olympics are considered an important moment in the sporting extravaganza.

High security

In the background in Marseille, around 6,000 members of the security forces are on duty at a time when the country is on highest terrorist alert.

The torch relay will really begin in Marseille on Thursday when the great Ivorian footballer Didier Drogba, a former Marseille player, will be one of the bearers.

Extremely tight security will be a constant as the flame passes through more than 450 French cities and past dozens of tourist attractions, including Mont Saint Michel. He will also visit overseas destinations, including Guadeloupe, New Caledonia and Reunion.

Around 200 security forces are expected to be permanently positioned around the torch, including an anti-terrorism SWAT team and anti-drone officers.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin spoke of the risk of demonstrations, particularly from far-left groups or environmental activists like Extinction Rebellion.

Organizers have promised a “spectacular” and “iconic” Olympic and Paralympic Games, with much of the sport taking place in temporary venues around the City of Lights, including at the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides.

The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 26 will take place on boats on the Seine, in a radical departure from previous Games which opened in the main stadium.

However, President Macron said last month that the opening ceremony could be moved if the security risk was too high.

All major infrastructure has been completed with just two new permanent sports venues built in a bid to reduce the financial cost and carbon emissions of the global extravaganza.

The idea of ​​the flame rally is reminiscent of the ancient Olympic Games, when a sacred flame burned throughout the Games.

The Paris Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11, followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.