“Let it begin!” exclaimed the New York Times on Wednesday, May 8, reporting the arrival in Marseilles, aboard the three-masted Belem, of the Olympic flame, which begins “a seventy-nine-day relay” throughout France.
And in the city of Phocaeau, “which has experienced a higher percentage of violence and hardship, while retaining a fierce pride and the openness of a port city,” the mood is “decidedly optimistic. “
The rite in southern France marked the end of the flame’s “Mediterranean odyssey,” which “was lit in Greece last month among the ruins of Olympia, the ancient site of the first recorded Games,” notes The Washington Post.
In Masarseille, “a breakdown, estimated by the government at more than 225,000 people, had crowded the waterfront and hills of the ancient port city. Fireworks erupted in plumes of red, white and blue smoke, the colors of the French flag. “reports the New York Times.
Emmanuel Macron “watched with a smile” as Florent Manaudou, Olympic swimming champion in 2012 in London, passed the torch to Paralympic track and field champion Nantenin Keïta, the President of the Republic “enjoying the joyful atmosphere of a city he loves”. it passed to Jul, “a popular Marseille rapper who lit the Olympic cauldron to loud applause. “
“We’re entering the Games!” Emmanuel Macron said: “Everything has gone well for this arrival [. . . ], which is a great success,” he said on TF1 and France 2. Benoît Payan, mayor of Marseille, was enthusiastic about an exhibition that he described as moving and full of surprises. We can say that Marseille is the Olympic champion of the environment,” he said.
“In spite of everything, the fervour persists here, two and a half months before the opening ceremony,” writes Le Soir, which headlines “And suddenly, the Olympic chimney embraces France!”
However, despite the approximately 8,000 police and gendarmes mobilized, “there is also fear. “The Belgian newspaper mentions “a crowd that is too compact”, “poorly indicated exits from the perimeter”, “pushing” and families with young people who “panic”, while “this is only the beginning of the path”.
On Thursday, the torch relay will actually begin, explains the New York Times. You will make “a great excursion through the French-speaking world”, passing through Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Reunion Island, before arriving. in Paris on July 26.
The aim of this relay is to “unite France”, which “is not entirely convinced by the prospect of the Olympic Games”, explains the American newspaper. According to an Elabe poll released on Tuesday, only 24 percent of French people say they are excited about the prospect of this summer’s Olympics, compared to 46 percent who express indifference and 30 percent skepticism.
The Washington Post observes that everyone is in the mood to “celebrate”: in Marseille, demonstrators brandished banners denouncing the Olympics “for the riches. “
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