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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

Olympic torch ascends Cannes red carpet as part of journey around France

French athletes carried the Olympic torch up the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, as it makes its way to the capital for the Summer Olympics.

Published: 22 May 2024 08:43 CEST

Olympic torch ascends Cannes red carpet as part of journey around France

Former French athlete Thierry Rey, Former French athlete Marie-Jose Perec, President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organising Committee Tony Estanguet, French basketball player Iliana Rupert, French paracyclist Marie Patouillet, French para athlete Alexis Hanquinquant, French paracanoeist Nelia Barbosa and French para athlete Arnaud Assoumani arrive with the Olympic Torch in Cannes. Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP

The torch landed in the southern port city of Marseille earlier this month on board a 19th-century ship that had sailed it all the way from Greece.

It is now on a meandering route across France – and its overseas territories – building up to the Paris Games, which run from July 26th to August 11th.

On the red carpet, French basketball player Iliana Rupert was among those to hold the torch to the sound of tunes from sporty film soundtracks – including Chariots of Fire, about runners training for the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Retired sprinter and three-time Olympic gold medallist Marie-Jo Perec had her turn, as did the chief organiser of the Games, Tony Estanguet.

The Olympic flame is set to travel through 400 towns and dozens of tourist attractions during its 12,000-kilometre journey through mainland France, as well as visiting overseas French territories in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific.

MAP Which French towns and villages is the Olympic torch visiting?

Authorities have said anti-terror and riot police in vehicles as well as anti-drone specialists would be permanently but discreetly deployed as the torch moves around.

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No French fries but lots of lentils for Paris Olympic athletes

The 3,300-seat restaurant at the Paris Olympic village, which will welcome athletes next month, was given its first test-run on Tuesday by a hungry crowd of sports figures, officials and journalists.

Based in a vast former power station, the food hall includes six dining areas offering meals from around the globe, with half of the 50 dishes available each day being 100 percent vegetarian.

“People are going to meet here in France, with its culture, its heritage but also its gastronomy and so there are expectations,” chief Paris 2024 organiser Tony Estanguet told reporters.

Although many athletes would stick to their usual nutrition before competing, they will also be offered the chance to discover France’s famed food, with several Michelin-starred chefs taken on as advisors.

“We’ve allowed ourselves to put French gastronomy in pride of place so that curious athletes from around the world can try French culinary excellence,” Estanguet added.

The giant warm-food buffets will not include French fries, however.

McDonalds, a long-time Olympics sponsor, had its own fast-food restaurant in the Olympic village until the Rio Olympics in 2016, but athletes wanting a hit of junk food will have to look elsewhere.

“For technical reasons, we can’t offer fries,” said Estelle Lamotte, deputy director of village catering at food group Sodexo, told reporters.

She explained deep-fat fryers were not allowed in the temporary kitchens at the site, which is usually used as a film studio.

Gregoire Bechu, head of sustainable food at the Paris organising committee, stressed the quality of the ‘delicious’ lentil dahl recipe that has been developed for athletes.

“One of the major commitments by Paris 2024 was offering vegetarian meals in order to halve the carbon footprint of each meal on average,” he said. “We wanted vegetarian meals everywhere.”

At sports venues, 60 percent of food offered to fans will be vegetarian and the temporary stadium hosting skateboarding, BMX and breakdancing at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris will be entirely meat-free.

In a further bid to lower carbon emissions, only two of the six restaurant areas at the village will be air-conditioned, with the rest in outdoor courtyards sheltered by fabric sun shades and ventilated with overhead fans.

Tuesday’s test event, held under fierce sunshine and in 27C heat, saw some people visibly sweating.

“I think we’ve found a good compromise between offering the right temperature but also reducing our carbon emissions,” Estanguet said. “It’s one of the main challenges of the Paris 2024 edition.”

In a break from Olympic tradition, the 2,800 apartments at the village do not come with air-conditioning as standard.

But many Olympic teams have decided to install portable coolers at their own cost.

Paris has suffered a number of record heatwaves in recent years with temperatures peaking above 40C in July and August, but 2024 has so far been wet and cool.

The Paris Olympics run from July 26th to August 11th, followed by the Paralympics from August 28th to September 8th.

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