Marseilles. The Olympic flame arrived this Wednesday in Marseille, on the outskirts of the Old Port, amid tight security measures, 79 days before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games.
More than 150,000 people were expected to attend the ceremony after a six-hour parade of the three-masted sailing ship Belem, which left Greece on April 27 with the flame after it was lit in Ancient Olympia 11 days earlier.
Around 6,000 law enforcement officers are securing the area before Florent Manaudou, the 2012 French Olympic men’s 50-meter freestyle swimming champion, brings the flame to land in the presence of President Emmanuel Macron.
#DayInPictures The Olympic flame approaches the coast of Marseille on a 19th century ship, before docking with the torch that will begin its journey through 64 French territories, in the hands of ten thousand bearers, for its arrival at the inauguration of the next … pic.twitter.com/4fpZArLbop
— La Jornada (@lajornadaonline) May 8, 2024
Police canine units and snipers from elite forces have also been deployed.
“It is an unprecedented level of security,” said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. “Life goes on in Marseille, but under great security measures.”
“We conceived this event as a ceremony, the fifth of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, in addition to the opening and closing ceremonies,” said Paris 2024 executive director Thierry Reboul, in charge of the ceremonies.
The relay will begin on Thursday with former Olympique de Marseille footballers Jean-Pierre Papin, Didier Drogba and Basile Boli, as well as three-star chef Alexandre Mazzia among the torchbearers.
More than 10,000 people will participate in the torch relay before the flame reaches Paris and is installed near the Louvre, in the Tuileries Garden.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games torch relay begins on April 16 in Olympia, Greece, and continues with the 68-day French leg that will take it to the Opening Ceremony in Paris on July 26, 2024. Via Graphic News
#Olympic #flame #arrives #Marseille #face #strong #security #measures
– 2024-05-10 16:10:11
