“Where is Redouane? » At the foot of the giant letters “MARSEILLE”, planted in the north of the city Hollywood style, Karel, 9 years old, scans the landscape with the cardboard fan distributed at the entrance to the site, which he has rolled up like a spyglass . Having left the Bonne Mère this Thursday morning to begin its tour of the city – with Paris, Marseille is the only city in France to be crossed in this way over an entire day – the Olympic flame is expected at any moment with, among the 200 torchbearers of the day, Redouane Bougheraba, the first comedian to fill the Vélodrome.
“We saw it in LOL,” rejoice a gaggle of children around Karel. A little further away, Kassim, 8 years old, is also waiting for Redouane, who has also come as a neighbor with his family. “There, we’ll see the flame better,” assures his brother Amine, 11 years old, who nevertheless has great memories of the arrival the day before at the Old Port: “It was joy! “. Karel, for his part, proudly affirms: “We stayed until the middle of Alonso’s concert. »
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” Go Om ! »
At the appointed time, 11:10 a.m., the Olympic flame entered the site, with the much-awaited Redouane Bougheraba as its first bearer. Dressed in white, the official outfit of the torchbearers, he savored the moment and said several times, in front of a delighted audience: “Go OM! “. This is because tonight is a crucial match for a place in the Europa League final…
“We can’t see Redouane, mom, she’s a woman!” » Along the way, Mathilde L’Hôte, local actor in the social and solidarity economy, took over. “I know it will happen again in a long time, so it’s a historic moment,” continues Karel, still as enthusiastic as ever, when Séréna asks: “In truth, it doesn’t shock me too much, it’s as if you were taking a lighter and light a flame. » Response from the children in chorus: “It’s not just any flame, it’s THE flame!” »
“I won’t be there in a hundred years, it was good timing”
“I thought we were only going to see it in the city center, where everyone will be able to enjoy it,” smiles Fathia, who also enjoys returning to this Foresta park, now abandoned: “It was magical, there was everything for children, games, a shared garden, they could also ride a pony. There were several associations, which did not agree. » She still enjoys the view of the port, where the CMA-CGM container ship in the colors of the Olympic Games still sits.
Redouane Bougheraba was “proud to represent my city”. “It’s really moving, it’s something historic,” he comments afterwards, before adding: “They say it happens every hundred years, a hundred years ago I was not here. I won’t be there in a hundred years, it was good timing. »
After crossing other emblematic places such as the Pharo, the Corniche, the Olympic marina where the sailing events will be held this summer, it is the rapper Soprano, a child from the northern districts of Marseille, who will perform a spectacular relay on the roof of the Vélodrome. For a final lighting of the cauldron before the flame leaves Marseille on Friday, head to the Var.
