After having crisscrossed the centre of Paris, the Olympic flame continued its journey through the French capital on Monday, between the chic districts of the west and the working-class areas of the north-east.
On Monday morning, eleven days before the opening ceremony on July 26, the flame, which spent the night at the Hôtel de Ville, set off into the working-class district of Porte de la Chapelle, in the far north of the city, where the Arena now stands, the only facility built for the intramural Olympics, for a new tour of Paris.
In Montmartre, after the tourist Sacré-Coeur, the dancers of the Moulin Rouge, which found its wings again after falling off in April, greeted her with an inevitable French Cancan.
Then head to the Arc de Triomphe, where the relay took place in front of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, before a tour of the Champs-Élysées where it had already started the day before.
“I have never run 200m with so much emotion. It went by much too quickly,” singer Amir Haddad reacted on the France.tv website after his relay on the avenue.
The flame must then travel through the chic districts of the west of the capital before crossing the Seine to continue its journey on the left bank.
It will reach the south of the capital, towards Place Denfert-Rochereau, known for its Catacombs, before passing through Butte-aux-Cailles, a former working-class district affected by gentrification.
Return to the right bank at the end of the afternoon: a major stage is planned from 5:10 p.m. at Insep, the French high-level sports training center located in the Bois de Vincennes, with relays provided by former Olympic flag bearers such as Christine Caron, Marie-José Pérec, Laura Flessel and David Douillet.
Soccer and K-pop star
At the end of the day, at 7:25 p.m., judoka Clarisse Agbégnénou will carry the Olympic flame from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
On the heights of Belleville, a choral tribute will be paid to the most famous figure of this district, the singer Edith Piaf, then the journey will end with a concert on Place de la République.
The capital had welcomed the flame the day before for a first stage on the sidelines of the national holiday of July 14, with a route started on the iconic avenue des Champs-Élysées by the former international soccer player Thierry Henry.
The flame was passed from relay to relay through different faces and prides of Paris, from the National Assembly to Notre-Dame-de-Paris Cathedral, making a detour to the Pantheon, among others.
Singer Jin, star of the K-pop phenomenon BTS, wore it near the Louvre Museum, before it lit up the famous Mona Lisa.
Swimming in the Seine
The flame crossed the Seine several times, another star – but also a question mark – of these Games, in which the triathlon and open water swimming events are to take place.
After several rounds of poor results due to very rainy weather, local authorities announced good water analyses on Friday.
French Minister of Sports and Games Amélie Oudéa-Castéra took a dip in the Seine on Saturday morning, wearing a wetsuit, in the centre of Paris and near the competition site.
She has therefore been a few days ahead of the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, who plans to take a dip on Wednesday if the water quality remains good.