With the flame, the Games ignite

Dear readers,

In eighteen days, on May 8, the Olympic flame from Greece will arrive at the Old Port of Marseille aboard the “Belem”, a magnificent three-masted ship built in the 19th century. Some 150,000 spectators will be there to celebrate her before her Tour de France.

It is a safe bet that this will then be the real start of Paris 2024. The Games will no longer be just a source of controversy nor a vague prospect, but a reality - visible, palpable, admirable - with this torch carried by 10,000 French people, known or anonymous, who will take turns for several weeks. The country will ignite as it passes, from Toulon to Lille, from Chamonix to Brest, from Guyana to New Caledonia. This flame should set the sacred fire in all the provinces of France, metropolitan and overseas, to complete its journey on July 26, during the opening ceremony in the heart of Paris.

In ancient times, the torch relay did not exist. It was born with the Berlin Games, of sinister memory in Nazi Germany in 1936. One rule prevailed, however, in ancient Greece: the Olympic truce. Although all the conflicts did not stop, tradition dictated that there should be no attempt on the life or physical integrity of the athletes or spectators who traveled to participate in or attend the events. If this obligation of non-aggression could be respected, it would already be the most beautiful medal of Paris 2024!

Good weekend,

Yves Thréard