On this national holiday, the Olympic flame continues its journey and arrives in the capital, twelve days before the start of the Games. More than two months after its arrival in France and after 55 stops, the torch will crisscross the streets of the City of Lights for the first time for two days, and pass by the greatest monuments to generate excitement around the Olympic Games that is still far from being at its peak.
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His journey, which began in Marseille on May 8, was intended to begin to instill the spirit of Olympic Games. But, despite the popular success on the roadsides, the Olympic flame has not yet really illuminated the hearts of the French, caught up in a turbulent political situation.
Forty-eight hours will therefore not be too much for the population to finally get into the Games. All of Paris’ iconic locations will be used for a show provided by more than 540 torchbearers.
The torch run is due to start around 12:00 on Avenue Foch, at the end of a military parade on a reduced scale for the occasion.
Parisian monuments visited
The flame will first be escorted to the foot of the presidential stand of the July 14 parade by the equerries of the Cadre Noir de Saumur. Thierry Henry, the coach of the French Olympic men’s football team, will then be the first to set off from the Champs-Élysées at 11:00 UTC for a journey with illustrious backdrops: the Panthéon, Notre-Dame-de-Paris, La Bastille and the Louvre.
The party will end at Place de la République on Monday evening (8:45 p.m.), with a free concert, before a well-deserved rest at the Hôtel de Ville, where the flame will spend the night before a second tour in the capital, with stops at Montmartre, the Arc de Triomphe and Roland-Garros.
For each bearer, only four minutes and 200 meters to enjoy the moment, whether they are anonymous or called Marie-José Pérec, Laura Flessel or Jamel Debbouze. Starting Wednesday, the torch will come out of Paris to show in Piacrdie and throughout the Ile-de-France, before returning on July 26 for the opening ceremony.
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