Paris 2024: The Olympic flame begins its journey from Greece to Paris

Games before games. At the remains of the temple of Hera, the goddess of marriage in Olympia, the sun’s rays lit the Olympic flame on Tuesday, April 16, at noon local time (11 a.m. Paris). The torch, carried by Greek actress Mary Mina, was brought to the ancient stadium before being handed over to the first torchbearer, Greek Stefanos Ntouskos, Olympic rowing champion in Tokyo 2021. It was then swimmer Lore Manaudou – Olympic champion in the 400m freestyle race at the 2004 Athens Games – who took his place.

This ritual marks the start of an eleven-day procession across Greece, ending with a handover ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, where the modern games were born. Then the Olympic flame will be lit Belem, the only survivor of the French three-masted ships, and will head for Marseilles, a city founded from Phocaea in 600 by the Greeks. ANCIENT HERITAGE OF XXXIII^e The Olympics are guaranteed.

in the port of Phocaea, Belem – launched in 1896, the year of the first modern Olympic Games (OG) – must have been surrounded by a thousand boats before we entered the Old Port on Wednesday 8 May. In front of 150,000 expected spectators and the eyes of the world, the first train, whose identity will be revealed at the last moment, will unload the torch, the result of the design of Mathieu Lehaneur and the production lines of ArcelorMittal, before the Olympic Games. (installation is planned for each step in the city, not to be confused with the boiler) will ignite.

The flame will visit 64 overseas departments and territories, stop in 65 host cities, pass through more than 400 municipalities and its relay will mobilize around 10,000 trains. Its route is intended to be a showcase of France, highlighting its history (Lasco’s cave, Verdun, D-Day beaches, etc. …), its historical figures (Charles de Gaulle in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, Joan of Arc in Orleans …) and its sports venues (Court Simon Mathieu in Roland Garros, Mont Ventoux, Teahupoo…). “Indeed, France will be represented in all its diversity at the relay”Greetings Grigory Murak, Deputy Director of the Torch Relay at the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Cojop).

180,000 euros in the department

There is a torch relay “A moment of celebration and gathering”Eric Monin, Université Franche-Comté’s vice president for Olympism and director of the university’s Olympic Training and Research Center, summarizes. But ” one minute “ which has a price. Back in February 2022, Crews announced that “ The Olympic flame will not come [pour] Cost problem ». Hosting the relay for one day costs 180,000 euros including taxes. Not to mention the burden placed on each visited municipality (business, security, etc.).

Those extra costs were criticized by Morgan Berger, the far-right mayor of Cognac (Charentes), where Ali is expected on May 24. By the end of March, the councilor claimed he was between €8,000 and €9,000 short of securing the event and, without an increase, he threatened to pull out of hosting the relay.. Finally, a solution was found.

If Kojop praises Ali who “It will light up every area”Some departments won’t see it coming, especially since the bill is so high. However, cities that wanted to host the Olympic flame found a way out: Montpellier, for example, joined forces with Cette and Millau, while Hérault and Aveyron refused to bid. The same operation in Loire-Atlantique, where the department refused to fire, but where seven towns covered the costs of hosting the relay.

“safety bubble”

In times of political tension, fire can also be a threat. Eighteen policemen and gendarmes on foot and in civilian clothes will be mobilized around the train. The National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN) and mobile force units will complete the “security bubble” as well as the drone jamming vehicle. These security measures will cost the state 1 million euros.

At the end of January, Gérald Darmanin considered that, in addition to the terrorist risk, the main threat of disruption came from collectives. “Ultra-left environmentalists”. “Each journey of fire will have an alternate route”– said the Minister of Internal Affairs in an interview ParisianApril 9 and added that“We have also reached an agreement with the broadcasters so that they can follow a plan B if necessary.”.

for the Paralympic Games (from August 28 to September 8), “Same project and same ambition” that the Olympic Games will win in relation to their flame relay (twelve, as opposed to one Olympic flame), according to Cojop. But the route will be more modest: illuminated in Stoke Mandeville (England), the cradle of the Paralympic Games, on August 25, the Paralympic procession will reach Paris in four days.