The Olympic fire illuminated the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival

The red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival had a stellar presence that stole, at least for a few hours, all the flashes from the usual protagonists.

The Olympic flame was present at the traditional film festival and caught the attention of photographers, actors and guests who had shown up to see the premiere of the film Marcello mio with Catherine Deneuve and the documentary Olympiques! La France des Jeux.

The torch came from the hand of Paralympic athlete Arnaud Assoumani, winner of five Olympic medals, including the world record gold medal he won in the long jump in Beijing. Then it was the turn of three other Paralympic athletes: the triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant (gold medal in Tokyo 2020), the kayaker Nélia Barbosa (silver medal in Tokyo 2020) and the cyclist Marie Patouillet (double bronze medal in Tokyo).

The Olympic fire also passed through the athlete Marie-José Perec, the judoka Thierry Rey and the basketball player Iliana Rupert until, while the soundtrack of the movie Carros de Fuego played, she climbed the 24 steps of the Festival Palace.

Tony Estanguet, president of the Organizing Committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (COJO), also participated in the event, who had the idea of taking the torch to the Cannes Film Festival on the day of the premiere of the documentary made by Mickael Gamrasni, which tells the story of France’s participation in the history of the Olympic Games.

The group was greeted at the entrance of the Festival Palace by the president of the Cannes Film Festival, Iris Knobloch, and the artistic director, Thierry Frémaux. Now, to see the torch again on the Côte d’Azur, we will have to wait until June.

Before the Cannes red carpet parade, Estanguet experienced a special day because he was part of the relay when the torch passed through Pau, his hometown. The Pyrenees-Atlantiques received the torch on the 12th day of the tour, which will end on July 26 when the pot is lit in Paris, which will be located in the Tuileries garden.

After leaving Greece, the Olympic fire sailed for 12 days on the mythical Belén sailboat until it reached the port of Marseille on May 8 and from there it began its journey through the different regions of France. Now, he had to be the star that shone the most in Cannes.