The Olympic flame landed in France on Wednesday. About 150,000 people gathered in the historic port area of the southern city of Marseille to watch it being transferred to French soil on a century-old three-masted sailing ship after a 12-day journey from Greece.
The ceremony is considered a test run for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on July 26 in terms of crowd control and security.
Around 5,500 security forces were mobilized for the event, including 2,400 police officers. A security zone was set up around the spectator area and more than 500 plainclothes police officers mingled with the crowd.
The Flame’s arrival in France sparked days of debate in local media about whether the country, and Paris in particular, would be physically and mentally ready for the 2024 Games from July 26 to August 11.
One question remains about the ambitious plans to hold the opening ceremony on and along the Seine rather than in a stadium.
Organizers and Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra originally proposed allowing around 500,000 to 600,000 spectators into a secured sector about six kilometers long along the banks of the Seine.
In March, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that number would be closer to 326,000 and possibly lower, due to crowd control measures as well as security concerns given the increased threat of terrorism.
French President Emmanuel Macron then announced in an interview in April that a Plan B and a Plan C were also being prepared, according to which the ceremony would be limited to the area around the Trocadero area opposite the Eiffel Tower or, in the event of an emergency, to a stadium there could be a high risk of terrorism.
“This ceremony along the Seine is the first in the world. “We can do it and we will do it,” said Macron, but further iterations are also being prepared in parallel.
There has been general opposition to the cost of the Games from some quarters, as parts of the population struggle with the rising cost of living, and there has been a feeling so far that the country has not yet been able to rejoice at the prospect of the Games.
Macron told the media on Wednesday that he believed the flame’s arrival in France would galvanize popular support.
“It’s normal, daily life can be difficult and we have difficult news at the moment. This is where I feel like we’re getting into the games. The flame is here, in Marseille, on French soil. It will stay with us until the end of the Olympics in September [the Paralympics run from August 28 to September]. It is time for general enthusiasm and celebration among the French people.”
Traditionally, the torch with the flame was lit on April 16th at the birthplace of the ancient games in Olympia, Greece. She then traveled through Greece before being carried aboard the French sailing ship Belem, which is believed to have been built around the clock to coincide with the first edition of the modern Olympic Games in 1896.
The ship arrived off the coast of Marseille on Tuesday and then approached the historic port of Marseille, accompanied by around 1,000 small boats. It entered the harbor amid a display of red, white and blue fireworks, a fanfare, the French La Marseillaise and a flyover by the French acrobatic patrol.
French 2012 Olympic 50-meter freestyle swimming champion Florent Manaudou was tasked with bringing the flame, contained in a metal container, to shore. He then presented it to Paralympic athlete Nantenin Keita. The honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron went to Marseille-born rapper Jul.
The Olympic torch will now be carried through France, landing at key locations such as the Lascaux Caves, Mont Saint-Michel, the Verdun Memorial and the D-Day landing beaches.