After a day in Ille-et-Vilaine on Saturday June 1, the torch will make a stopover on Sunday June 2 in Deux-Sèvres and Niort. If you want to attend this founding moment of the Paris 2024 Olympics, here are the places you should go. In total, 71 people will carry the flame that day.
It will all start at 9:05 a.m. in Thouars at the Délices des Halles, Place du Boël, where the flame will begin its journey via Boulevard Pierre-Curie, Avenue Victor Leclerc, Rue de la Trémouille to arrive at the Collège Marie de la Tour d’Auvergne at 9:25 a.m.
Then the flame will head towards Bressuire where it will leave from Jules-Supervielle college, boulevard de l’Europe at 10:10 a.m. The route will begin with a collective relay from the French Taekwondo Federation to present the different facets of the discipline and will pass in front of the Alain-Métayer stadium. This relay will be led by Myriam Baverel, who started taekwondo in Niort, silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games. The route will then pass in front of the sub-prefecture, the castle, the Notre-Dame Church to end at 11 hours in front of the Bressuire Theater.
Head to the David-Douillet gymnasium
The 3rd stage in Deux-Sèvres will take place from 11:23 a.m. to 11:43 a.m. in Parthenay, considered the capital of Gâtine Poitevine, a bocage country. The departure will take place from the citadel, Saint-Jacques fortified gate then the route will take the boulevard de la Meilleraye, passing in front of the Parthenay Museum of Art and History, the Palais des Congrès before ending in Square Robert- Bigot.
After a short break, head to Saint-Maixent-l’École between 2:13 p.m. and 3:04 p.m. The flame will leave in front of the National School of Non-Commissioned Officers of Active, then pass in front of the Place du Chevron, the David Douillet gymnasium, the Porte Chalon, classified as a historic monument since 1999. The arrival will take place at the Espace Agapit, place Denfert Rocherau.
The next stage will take place in Celles-sur-Belle. After departing at 3:17 p.m. from the Notre-Dame Abbey parish church, the flame will pass in front of the Royal Abbey of Celles-sur-Belle, dating from the 12th century and located on the road to Jacques de Compostela, then will take the streets of the church and Cèdres, to arrive at 3:37 p.m. at the Omnisports hall of the Boissière sports complex.
The lit cauldron in Niort
Then, the flame’s journey will make a stopover in Coulon between 5:34 p.m. and 5:54 p.m., considered the capital of “Green Venice” in the Poitevin marshes. The start will be from Ponton des Pigouilles, then the flame will go up Chemin de la Trigale, passing in front of the Marais Poitevin house to arrive in front of the Church of the Holy Trinity.
Finally, Niort will mark the final destination for this day. The flame will leave at 6:25 p.m. from the Clou Bouchet district town hall, pass in front of Port Boinot, the Roc mill, the Donjon museum, the Brèche garden, the department hotel, the town planning architecture council to arrive at 7:20 p.m. at Place Chanzy. The celebration site, Place Chanzy, will be open to the public from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Entertainment will be organized before and after the arrival of the last torchbearer and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
