The Olympic flame arrived in France at Marseille on Wednesday on board a 19th century ship in front of 150,000 spectators for a ceremony that posed a first major security test for organisers of the 2024 Paris Games.
The flame was brought to the southern French port from Greece on the three-masted Belem, 79 days before the Olympics begin.
As the ship entered Marseille’s Old Port with hundreds of small boats trailing behind, planes from the Patrouille de France display team traced the Olympic rings in the sky before they returned to paint the red, white and blue of the French flag.
Fireworks tore into the sky as the Belem docked after its 12-day voyage from Greece, where the flame was lit in ancient Olympia on April 16.
Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Florent Manaudou carried the torch from the deck of the ship.
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