PARIS — From the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, from the posh areas of Paris to the working-class areas, hundreds of people carried the Olympic torch through the French capital during two days of festivities before the Summer Games start at the end of the month.
On Sunday and Monday, cheerful crowds lined up along the route.
“I got super emotional,” said BMX world champion Matthias Dandois after carrying the torch in front of the Eiffel Tower. “I’m from Paris and grew up with so many sports and watching the Olympics, and it was a dream to be part of that.”
About 10,000 people were chosen to carry the flame across France, from the southern city port of Marseille, where it arrived on May 8, to the opening ceremony on July 26. Many are athletes. Others were chosen because they represent art, culture and gastronomy, volunteer for charities or are deeply involved in community life.
Dressed in white, they ran at a slow pace to the cheers of spectators. The flame reached the top floor of the Eiffel Tower on Monday together with French judoka and Olympic champion Clarisse Agbegnenou.
Francky Mbotto, a 26-year-old middle-distance runner from the Central African Republic living in Paris, wore it near the Arc de Triomphe.
“This is incredible! It’s so emotional. It is Olympism that is emphasized,” he said, adding that the relay aims to convey a “message of peace.”
Another torchbearer, Eva David, a wheelchair basketball player, described it as “a real moment of joy.”
Belgian singer Mentissa carried the torch while her songs were played. “Sports and music really bring people together and make us forget about our everyday lives,” she said.
The torch made its grand entrance in Paris on Sunday on the occasion of Bastille Day, together with the military equestrian Colonel Thibaut Vallette, gold medalist at the Rio 2016 Games. It was presented to a relay by students from the multicultural northern suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Former World Cup winner Thierry Henry, leader of the French Olympic football team, later carried the flame down the Champs-Elysées.
Among the torchbearers who drew the most attention was K-Pop icon Jin, member of the band BTS, who carried it in front of the Louvre on Sunday evening.
“It was an honor to be part of such a meaningful moment,” he said, according to his management agency.
Jin’s relay attracted a large crowd. Sofia Boukhabla, 23, said she had little interest in watching the Games but rushed with her friends to see Jin. “He’s so cute,” she exclaimed.
Late on Sunday, Ludovic Franceschet, a local garbage collector, took the flame to Paris City Hall, where he spent the night under high protection. Franceschet, who wants to increase environmental awareness with hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, took the opportunity to remind residents and visitors to put their waste in bins.
The torch relay was also an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of the 2015 attacks in the French capital, including at the Bataclan concert hall. Lassana Bathily, the Mali-born worker who saved lives during an attack on a kosher supermarket, carried the torch to the Pantheon monument.
Some spectators found relief from the recent chaos in France.
Isabelle Kling, 70, took a detour from her usual dog walking route to witness the relay. “I almost cry when I finally see the flame. It’s a bit of joy after the disastrous weeks we’ve had,” she said, referring to the recent elections in France.
The torch will continue its journey in northern France and through the Paris region before returning to the French capital.
The Olympic cauldron is lit after the opening ceremony on the River Seine on July 26.
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Associated Press journalists Oleg Cetinic in Paris and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the Olympic Games at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
