The Belem arrived this Wednesday near the coast of Marseille and paraded in the harbor with a group of boats in its wake. A grandiose spectacle that tens of thousands of spectators admired from land.
A forest of masts, blowing of horns, the sound of a bagpipe and the jets of water from the firemen: the Belem, a century-old ship guardian of the Olympic flame, and hundreds of boats parade this Wednesday, May 8 in the Marseille harbor to mark the arrival of the flame in France.
“It’s been crazy since this morning,” enthuses Yassine Nassah, 19, who is on board the Belem, to AFP.
“I can see the coasts of Marseille, it’s incredible to find my city, my people, my family, with all these boats accompanying us,” explains this young accounting student from Marseille, selected by the Caisse d’Epargne as a “scout ” to accompany the flame aboard the 58-meter three-masted ship which is bringing the Olympic flame back from Greece, after 12 days of navigation.
On dry land, the crowd swelled little by little throughout the day. On the Old Port, 50,000 people were already present in the middle of the afternoon, assured the city’s mayor Benoît Payan on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Many people also settled on the lawns of the Palais du Pharo which provides a panoramic view of the Marseille harbor, and therefore the Belem parade.
“It is too beautiful”
The majestic historic sailboat began to be seen off the coast of Marseille around 8 a.m. At 11 a.m., he was joined by hundreds of boats, sail or motor, and began to the sound of sirens a navigation of several hours, on calm seas and under a radiant sun.
“Really, it’s too beautiful. It’s too beautiful!”, shares with BFM Marseille Provence Albert Corrieri, oldest of the Olympic flame bearers who admired the spectacle from the Catalans beach and who will blow out his 102nd candle on the 28th. may.
“It’s really beautiful to see, I’m happy to have arrived in time to see the boat”, explains Yann, a Quebecer who is doing a tour of France by bike, “the last few days, I pedaled so as not to miss Belem and see the flame (…) It will be a great story to add to my journey.
Crowd on the coast
Out with their dinghies with yellow and blue sails and small catamarans, students from the North Harbor sailing school accompany the parade for a few minutes, without straying too far from the banks, where the crowd has gathered to admire the show.
Around forty boats from customs, firefighters, the French Navy and the gendarmerie, with 360 people on board, are responsible for securing this exceptional nautical gathering. Closest to the three-masted ship, inflatable boats create a safe “bubble”.
“Get out of the way!”, “Go behind!”: equipped with a megaphone, a gendarmerie officer gives his orders to prevent boaters from getting too close.
Little by little, the armada folds and settles into place at the rear of the large sailboat, guided by a red firefighter launch. Operations are directed by the maritime prefecture, from a command center where officers from the various security forces can observe the ballet of the boats on screens and through a large bay window.
Restricted browsing
To secure the parade grounds, navigation has been restricted for all other boats off the coast of France’s second city and in and from its various ports,
At 7 p.m., the ship will enter the Old Port. In the presence of President Emmanuel Macron, Belem will be welcomed by a fireworks display of “recycled biodegradable confetti”, by the music of the Marseille Philharmonic Orchestra and by the unmissable “tifos”, these impressive banners of supporters of the aptly named Olympic Marseille.
Around 7:40 p.m., the Olympic flame will disembark from Belem, in the hands of Florent Manaudou, Olympic swimming champion in 2012. Then the Olympic cauldron will be lit, on Quai de la Fraternité, by a bearer whose identity is still unknown.
