Tens of thousands of people gathered Wednesday in Marseille, the major port city of France located on the Mediterranean coast, to receive the Olympic torch and mark another milestone in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Paris.
Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou became the first torchbearer in France, after the Belem — a majestic three-masted sailing ship — transported the flame from Greece for the welcoming ceremony at dusk in the city’s Old Port.
To the tune of La Marseille, the national anthem of France, the sailboat entered the port. Planes from the French air force flew over and drew the five Olympic rings in the sky and then the red, blue and white colors of the national flag.
The sailboat anchored at a dock that resembled an athletics track and Manaudou carried the torch to the mainland in France. He gave it to Paralympic sprinter Nantenin Keïta, gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Games. Keïta proceeded to give it to rapper Jul, originally from Marseille, who lit the cauldron as thousands cheered from a cordoned-off area on the riverbank and many more They did it from balconies and windows.
“We can be proud”said French President Emmanuel Macron, who attended the reception ceremony.
“The flame is on French territory,”the president added. “The Games come to France and will enter the lives of the French people.”
Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan said more than 230,000 people attended Wednesday’s event.
The torch was lit in ancient Greece last month before being officially handed over to France. She left Athens on the Belem, a sailing ship that set sail for the first time in 1896, exactly the year in which the first modern Olympic Games were held. The sailboat spent 12 days at sea.
“The return of the Games to our country will be a fantastic celebration,” declared Tony Estanguet, the president of the Paris 2024 Games.
“As a former athlete, I understand how important the start of a competition is. That was why we chose Marseille, because it is undoubtedly one of the cities most in love with sports.”added Estanguet, Olympic canoe champion at the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Games.
The safety of visitors and residents of Marseille was a top priority for the authorities of Marseille, France’s second largest city with almost one million inhabitants. More than 8,000 agents were mobilized around the port.
Camille Chaize, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, said authorities took precautions for various security threats, including terrorism.
“We have used several measures, notably with the Intervention Group of the National Gendarmerie, which will be in the torch relay from start to finish”Chaize said.
The Olympic cauldron will be lit after the opening ceremony of the Games which will take place on the Seine River on July 26. The place in Paris where the cauldron will be lit will be kept secret until the same day. Iconic places in the French capital, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Tuileries Garden, located between the Louvre Museum and Place de la Concorde, are said to be among the options.
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Source: Gestion
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