Only three days left before the opening ceremony, and only one short day before the start of the first events. While Paris continues to welcome athletes from all over the world, the flame is slowly approaching the end of its journey, Tuesday, July 23, in the Yvelines.
Emmanuel Macron speaks on the Olympics. During an interview broadcast on France 2 and franceinfo, the President of the Republic welcomedthat France organizes “the most sustainable Games in history, the most inclusive Games, the most gender-balanced Games.” He set the same goal as Tony Estanguet for the medal ranking (“We have to be in the top five”) and has repeatedly stated that “The Paralympic Games are as important as the Olympic Games”.
The passing flame in the Yvelines. For this 65th day of the relay, the Olympic flame begins its journey through Yvelines at the Château de Rambouillet, before reaching Versailles, the host town for the equestrian events during the Games, where the cauldron will be lit at Madame Elisabeth’s estate. Among the hundred or so torchbearers are the coach of the French football team, Didier Deschamps, the former footballer and world champion Blaise Matuidi, and the tennis player Caroline Garcia.
Final test for French handball players. Having beaten Croatia (31-26) in a friendly match on 17 July, after a defeat a few days earlier against Germany (35-30), the Blues will face Slovenia this afternoon (5pm), in a “familiarisation” match, without an audience. This last match, during which the contacts will a priori be much lighter than against the Croatians, is the opportunity for Guillaume Gille’s men to tread, for the first time, the parquet of the Arena Paris Sud, on which they will make their entry into the Olympic tournament, on 27 July against Denmark (9pm).