Olympic flag arrives in Paris ahead of 2024 Games

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo brandished the Olympic flag after disembarking from the Air France flight that brought many of France’s Olympic medalists back to Charles de Gaulle airport.

Hidalgo, who formally received the flag Sunday during the Tokyo closing ceremony from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, told reporters the flag “is the symbol that now, really, the Paris Games are coming”, adding: They will be “very positive for our country”.

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She said the Tokyo Games were “organised in very difficult conditions” because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

French basketball star Evan Fournier, whose team won silver in Tokyo, told FRANCE 24 that “the [Olympic] village felt like normal to be honest; there were a lot of athletes talking to each other and not as many restrictions as I thought”.

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French organisers will stay in touch with Japanese counterparts to prepare for the Paris Games, including on security issues, Hidalgo said.

The Olympic flag was raised at Paris City Hall later on Monday. A celebration then took place at Trocadéro square, which overlooks the Eiffel Tower, where people welcomed the French medalists home.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)