(Nice) The Olympic flame returned to mainland France on Tuesday, brought up from the sea depths by freediving champion Alice Modolo in Villefranche-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes) before glamorous stages in Cannes and Monaco.
After a passage through Tahiti and a trip by boat to Guadeloupe then Martinique, islands of the Antilles, the flame plunged about forty meters into the Mediterranean, in the harbor of Villefranche, a privileged site for practice and competitions. apnea due to its depth sheltered from currents.
This is not the first time that the Olympic flame has been submerged: that of the Sydney Olympics in 2000 had spent almost three minutes underwater near the Great Barrier Reef, and before the Sochi Winter Olympics ( Russia) in 2014, divers took turns at a depth of 13 meters in Lake Baikal.
In both cases, innovative chemical solutions had enabled combustion, or the illusion of combustion, underwater. But for reasons of safety and environmental protection, the Alpes-Maritimes department opted for a miniature military diving tank and a system of LED lights controlled by a microcontroller to give the appearance of a real flame.
The classic flame then left for a tour of the department bordering Italy, between relays by the sea and summer tobogganing or ziplining in mountain resorts.
In Cannes, where she had already climbed the steps during the film festival in May, the flame was carried by the American actress Halle Berry then the footballer Megan Rapinoe surrounded by a delegation of American athletes, including the snowboarder and skater Shaun White and practitioners of flag football (derived from American football) and lacrosse (sport between two teams and consisting of sending a rubber ball into the opposing goals using a stick), disciplines which will be on the program of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Early in the afternoon, the relay took a detour to Monaco, where Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc took the first relay and Prince Albert II and his wife Charlene took the last, together, on the Place du palace.
A member of the International Olympic Committee, Albert II took part in the Winter Olympics in bobsleigh on several occasions, and his grandfather John Kelly, father of Princess Grace, won a gold medal in rowing at the Paris Olympics in 1924. A former swimming champion, Charlène took part in the Sydney Olympics under the colours of South Africa.
At the end of the day, the flame must also go up the entire Promenade des Anglais in Nice, where it will be carried in particular by several representatives of the victims of the attack of July 14, 2016, which left 86 dead.
Double world athletics champion Stéphane Diagana will light the cauldron around 7:20 p.m., in the presence of the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera.