Olympic flame arrives in Marseille

The Olympic torch has reached Marseille amid an “unprecedented level of security”, 79 days before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games.

A three-masted ship brought the torch to the Mediterranean coastal city in southern France from Greece’s ancient Olympia, where the flame was lit on 11 April.

The torch will be brought to shore after a six-hour parade, featuring more than 1,000 boats, in front of President Emmanuel Macron and an estimated crowd of 150,000 people.

Officials said 6,000 law enforcement officers, canine units and elite forces snipers will be on patrol.

“Life goes on in Marseille but in great security conditions,” said interior minister Gerald Darmanin. “It’s an unprecedented level of security.”

France raised its security threat level last October after a teacher was killed in a knife attack, while there are concerns that wars in Ukraine and Gaza could increase the threat.

The president of the Paris 2024 organising committee Tony Estanguet, said Marseille was the “obvious choice” to host the boat parade given it is France’s oldest city and was founded by Greeks..

On Thursday, the torch will begin its journey to Paris with former Marseille footballers JeanPierre Papin, Didier Drogba and Basile Boli among the torch bearers. More than 10,000 people will take part in the 7,500-mile torch relay, which will also visit French overseas territories, before the flame reaches the captical city and is installed near the Louvre, in the Jardin des Tuileries.