And suddenly, the Olympic cauldron was ablaze in the salons of Paris City Hall. At 11:26 pm, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo finally broke the suspense by revealing the identity of the final torchbearer, while the crowd buzzed with the names of football stars like Zinédine Zidane and Kylian Mbappé. It would be former tennis player turned singer Yannick Noah, described by the ecastic Socialist mayor as "a very great French champion," alongside the president of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OCOG), Tony Estanguet. Outside, on a crowded forecourt, hundreds of arms reached out into the night, brandishing phones in video mode. "La Marseillaise" rang out shortly before the first glimmer of fireworks from the Eiffel Tower.

Throughout Sunday, July 14, the Olympic torch journeyed through the streets of Paris's many neighborhoods in a patchwork of calm, dignified or lively moods. This event marked a moment of realization for the capital city, as it embraced its role as the host of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, after weeks of gloom due to the tense national and international political situation.

It's been over two months since the flame arrived in Marseille from Athens on the Belem, to an unprecedented degree of popular fervor. From Lille to Strasbourg, Verdun to Brittany and even the French overseas departments and territories, the enthusiasm of the French people has been undiminished. Some five million of them – according to the organizers – flocked to the roadsides to applaud the bearers of the Olympic torch for over two months. With just 12 days to go before the opening ceremony on the Seine, was Paris about to get caught up in the Games too?

It all began, at 1 pm, with the image of the Louis Vuitton trunk housing the flame, placed on the Franklin Roosevelt traffic circle, from where the Olympic convoy was due to depart. To the applause of a small gathering of onlookers, Thierry Henry was the first to set off down the Champs-Elysées for this 57^th stage of the torch's journey. A few hours earlier, the Olympic flame had brought the military parade to a close, escorted down Avenue Foch by the equestrians of the Cadre Noir de Saumur.

'Chills'

Brigitte Fournier was wearing a "Paris 2024" emblazoned cap just purchased from the official store. "It's a super important event," exclaimed the Parisian, who came with her husband. "We're delighted to welcome the Games and the tourists." A little further on, on the steps of the Petit Palais, four female opera singers were performing some of the great opera arias. As the small crowd dispersed, Véronique Crombé, a lecturer at the Musées Nationaux, settled down on the lawn to draw. "I'd have preferred the World's Fair to the Olympics," she confided. "But all I hope is that it goes well."

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