The torch will mark its return to mainland France this Tuesday, June 18. It will cross seven towns, by the sea and in the mountains, as well as the principality.
After ten days overseas, the Olympic flame is preparing its return to mainland France. The 34th stage of his journey to Paris brings him to the Alpes-Maritimes on Tuesday June 18.
On the program: the crossing of seven communes, from Villefranche-sur Mer to Nice, with a princely interlude in Monaco, added at the last minute.
“The Olympic torch relay route will highlight the beauty, diversity, traditions and exceptional panoramas that the territory offers,” promises the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture.
• Villefranche sur mer
The Olympic flame will celebrate its arrival on the Côte d’Azur by sea. It will emerge from the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer and will be brought to dry land by freediver Alice Modolo. The torch relay will then extend over 670 meters via Quai Courbet, towards the Citadel.
The Alpes-Maritimes prefecture advises spectators to position themselves around 7:45 a.m. along Quai Courbet, Place Amélie-Pollonais and Avenue Feodorovna to attend the event.
• Oily
At 9 a.m., an air of Olympism will blow over Grasse. Lasting 53 minutes, the relay in the world capital of perfumes, listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, will begin at Cours Honoré-Cresp.
Star chef Jacques Chibois will be one of the torchbearers on this 3.5 km section, which will lead to the Louis-Perdigon stadium.
• Canes
11:28 a.m.: time for glitter. The Olympic flame will arrive under the palm trees of Cannes. Led by Thierry Frémaux, the delegate of the Cannes Film Festival, the relay will run along the seafront departing from Quai Saint-Pierre.
The Olympic flame will cross the Old Port, pass in front of the Palais des Festivals then end its journey at the Moure rouge nautical base.
• Valberg
Change of scenery. At 1:18 p.m., travel to Valberg, high in the mountains. The Olympic torch relay will take place in summer luge from Place Charles-Génésy.
Olympic vice-champion Julia Pereira de Sousa-Mabileau, Olympic athlete, snowboarder and youngest French medalist at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang in 2018, will be there.
• Monaco
How can you imagine a relay on the Côte d’Azur without going through Monaco? It was not initially on the program, but the flame will make a detour to the Principality between 2:15 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. The starting point is in front of the sculpture of Juan Manuel Fangio, at the start of Boulevard Albert I.
Charles Leclerc, Monegasque Formula 1 driver, victorious on his home soil on May 26, will take over the first relay. The flame will go up the Avenue du Port, cross the Avenue de la Porte neuf, go up the Rampe Major and end its course in front of the main gate of the Prince’s Palace. The last relay will be led by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene.
The palace invites the population to “come in large numbers to witness and salute this passing of the Olympic flame, an exceptional event in the Principality”.
• Antibes-Juan-les-Pins
3:07 p.m.: return to France and to Antibes-Juan-les-Pins to be exact, the only town in the country to be twinned with Olympia.
4.4 kilometers of route await the flame along the sea, via the Remparts, the Picasso museum, the Porte Marine and at Fort Carré, the end point of this stage. Swimmer Alain Bernard and skier Arthur Bauchet will take part in the Antibes relay.
“The public will be able to position themselves throughout the route, with the exception of the part of Cap d’Antibes starting from Salis beach,” indicates the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture.
• La Colmiane-Valdeblore
4:33 p.m., time to gain height again. The Olympic flame will discover La Colmiane. It is here that the largest zip line in France is located, with a length of 2,663 meters. And it is by this zip line, at a speed of 120 km/h, that she will reach Valdeblore.
The Olympic flame will then take the Vésubie route and conclude this stage at the departmental snow and altitude school. Loïc Pietri, world judo champion, will participate in this relay at altitude.
• Nice
The Olympic flame will mark its arrival in Nice – host city of several football matches – in the Arenas district. It will depart from Avenue des Grenouillères and go up the Promenade des Anglais for 9.2 km to the Quai des Études.
Among athletes, the skier Nastasia Noens, alpine skier Alexis Pinturault and tennis player Alizé Cornet will take turns in the relay. Members of the associations of victims of the attack of July 14, 2016, whose appeal trial ended on Friday June 14, will also carry the Olympic symbol on the Promenade des Anglais. Guy and Quentin, the father and brother of the late Camille Muffat, will also be present.
Singer Ben Mazué will be the penultimate torchbearer. He will pass the torch to athlete Stéphane Diagana, who will light the cauldron at 7:20 p.m.
“Two secure entrances will be reserved for the public on either side of the celebration site: one at the corner Max-Gallo/promenade des Anglais and the other opposite the Di Piu restaurant,” specifies the prefecture.
The next day, Wednesday June 19, the Olympic flame will swap the Côte d’Azur for Vaucluse, with an expected passage to Avignon. She will end her tour of France in Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris on July 26, the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Florian Bouhot Journalist BFM Régions
