PARIS (AP) — From the Louvre Museum to the Champs-Elysees, from Paris’ posh districts to working-class neighborhoods, hundreds of people have carried the Olympic torch through the French capital for two days of celebrations before the Summer Games kick off at the end of the month.
Joyful crowds lined up along the route Sunday and Monday.
“I got super emotional,” BMX world champion Matthias Dandois said after carrying the torch in front of the Eiffel Tower. ”I’m from Paris, and I grew up playing so much sport and watching the Olympics, and it was a dream to be a part of it.”
About 10,000 people were chosen to carry the flame across France from the southern city port of Marseille, where it arrived on May 8, to the opening ceremony on July 26. Many are athletes. Others were picked because they represent art, culture and gastronomy, volunteer for charities or are deeply involved in community life.
Dressed in white, they ran at a slow pace to the cheers of spectators.
Francky Mbotto, a 26-year-old middle-distance runner from Central African Republic who lives in Paris, carried the torch near the Arc de Triomphe.
“This is incredible! It’s so emotional. It’s Olympism that is being highlighted,” he said, adding that the relay is meant to deliver a “message of peace.”
Another torchbearer, Eva David, a wheelchair basketball athlete, described it as “a real moment of jubilation.”
Belgian singer Mentissa carried the torch as her songs were played. “Sport and music really bring people together and make us forget our daily lives,” she said.
The torch made its grand entrance in Paris for Bastille Day on Sunday with military horse rider Col. Thibaut Vallette, gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Games. It was handed to a relay by students from the multicultural northern suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis in front of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Former World Cup winner Thierry Henry, who leads France’s Olympic soccer team, later carried the flame down the Champs-Elysees avenue.
Among the torchbearers who attracted the most attention was K-Pop icon Jin, a member of the band BTS, who carried it Sunday evening in front of the Louvre.
“It was an honor to be part of such a meaningful moment,” he said, according to his management agency.
Jin’s relay drew a significant crowd. Sofia Boukhabla, 23, said she had very little interest in watching the Games but rushed with her friends to see Jin. “He is so cute,” she exclaimed.
Late on Sunday, Ludovic Franceschet, a local garbage collector, brought the flame inside Paris City Hall, where it spent the night under high protection. Franceschet, who seeks to raise environmental awareness with hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, seized the occasion to remind residents and visitors to put their trash in bins.
The torch relay was also the chance to pay tribute to victims of the 2015 attacks in the French capital at the Bataclan concert hall and elsewhere. Lassana Bathily, the Mali-born employee who saved lives during an attack at a kosher supermarket, carried the torch at the Pantheon monument.
Some onlookers found relief from recent chaos in France.
Isabelle Kling, 70, took a detour from her usual dog-walking route to witness the relay. “It almost makes me want to cry, finally seeing the flame. It’s a bit of joy after the disastrous weeks we’ve had,” she said, alluding to the recent elections in France.
The torch will continue its journey in northern France and through the Paris region before heading back to the French capital.
The Olympic cauldron will be lit after the opening ceremony on the River Seine on July 26.
Associated Press journalists Oleg Cetinic in Paris and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea contributed.
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