We needed one and we found it! Gilles, Marlène and their three children aged 3, 7 and 9. A Belgian family on vacation in Provence. Who, after discovering Ventoux, Luberon and Orange, could not forget Avignon before returning to Liège.
“We arrived Monday evening, spent the day in town and this morning we woke up to barriers everywheret.” Not very customers of the French regional press, not very connected either, Gilles and Marlène therefore discovered that the flame was passing to Avignon… on the job. “It’s our annual two-week break, explains the father. And then it’s a long one, isn’t it, this story. I had seen images of Marseille, I have the impression that it was in another century!“
“We have already seen the flame in Montpellier”
Tourists too, Paul and Meredith, from UK, were well informed. “We were already in Marseille for the arrival of Belem and in London, twelve years ago! We live six months in Provence and six months in England. It’s great for France to host the Olympics.“
An opinion shared by thousands of Avignon residents this Wednesday. Probably not far from 10,000 spread all over the route, from the Plaine des sports to the city center. The tension rose little by little throughout the day and around 6:30 p.m., when the first porter entered the intramural premises via Cours Jean-Jaurès, the street was full of people.
Place de l’Horloge, Xuebing, his wife, Stéphanie, and their daughter, Emma couldn’t miss it either. The little family from Montpellier came to spend the afternoon in Vaucluse and this was not their first attempt. “We already saw the flame in Montpellier a few weeks ago. So we already know her a little…“
To heat the gigantic open-air room, a batucada then set the mood. Blue white red makeup on the cheeks, many young people. Including Olivia, Lara, Léo and Jules, all 14 years old and came with friends. Young rowers practice rowing at the Société Nautique d’Avignon (SNA). “It’s historic“, they say in unison. The budding athletes were there to shout the name of their idol, Jérémie Azou, Olympic rowing champion in 2016, in Rio. “We show that the SNA is there!“The three young rowers had even put on their competition outfit…
Place du Palais des Papes, we had to jostle to find the best spot. “On the bend, that’s where they’ll pass the baton“, advises a policewoman. A burst pipe was 20 m further away. But the children, with stars in their eyes, won’t hold it against him.”It was too short“, sums up one of them. “When is she coming back?“, says a second. Gullible? Not really. With the attribution of the Winter Games to France for 2030, the flame could find Avignon sooner than expected…
