Olympic flame makes its way to Paris ahead of opening ceremony
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00:00Let's come back to France now, and there are just two days to go to the opening ceremony
00:03of the Olympics in Paris.
00:05But some of the sporting events are already getting underway today.
00:09Those very first events include both football and rugby sevens group games.
00:14In the men's sevens, France will play the U.S. this afternoon here in Paris.
00:18Later tonight, the French men's football team, coached by Thierry Henry, take on the U.S.
00:23in their opening group game in Marseille.
00:26But the official opening ceremony is being held, of course, this Friday with the lighting
00:29of the Olympic cauldron.
00:31The Olympic flame that alighted is still making its way around Paris and today going right
00:36by the France 24 studios just south of Paris.
00:39Our Delano D'Souza made that quick trip outside to check out the ambiance.
00:42He joins me now from there.
00:44Delano, how's it going?
00:45Have we seen the flame yet?
00:50If we're lucky, we'll see the flame in the live shot, Jeannie.
00:53Hundreds of people have gathered, as you can see behind me, to watch the flame and
00:59its rally here in the Haute Seine department.
01:03Hundreds of people have gathered on a bridge in front of me.
01:05We can't really pan the camera that way, but just to give you an idea, we are on the outskirts
01:10of Paris, but there are many businesses here.
01:13You mentioned our television studios at France 24, but also we have businesses like Microsoft.
01:19We have French companies, Sodexo, Capgemini and Orange.
01:23So to give you an idea, there are hundreds of people who have gathered.
01:25Security is extremely tight.
01:27The flame is also going to make its way to another department of Nanterre later on today
01:33and end at the La Défense arch where there will be a cauldron lit.
01:38Of course, then the flame will continue on its relay Thursday and Friday.
01:45Friday, it's going to be in the department of Saint-Saint-Denis, one of the poorest in
01:51France.
01:52Obviously, we have the Olympic Village, which is there, as well as France's biggest stadium,
01:57the Stade de France.
01:59French President Emmanuel Macron suggested earlier this week that he was hoping the games
02:03would turn the tide for some of these disadvantaged neighborhoods.
02:07We know that we have some high-profile people who will be carrying the torch on the very
02:12last day, including U.S. rapper Snoop Dogg.
02:17We still don't know, unfortunately, the biggest secret here in France is who will be the last
02:22person to carry the torch and who lights the Olympic cauldron on Friday, just before the
02:28Olympic Games begin.
02:29That for now remains a big, big secret.
02:32It certainly does, as well as who's going to perform.
02:34We do know Celine Dion is in town.
02:36We don't know if she actually will be performing, but we'll be keeping an eye on that.
02:39But one thing we have seen, Delano, definitely as the days go by, is the increase in security
02:44as we get to the opening ceremony.
02:47Indeed, this is something I even noticed just coming to work, walking around the center
02:55of the city yesterday.
02:56I witnessed groups of soldiers this morning.
02:59There was a police presence on the platform of many train stations, which I passed through.
03:06On the day of the opening ceremony, we're going to have some 45,000 police officers
03:11and gendarmes on the streets of Paris, securing, obviously, the opening ceremony, which is
03:16taking place on the banks of the River Seine.
03:18This is something that has been a huge security headache for the authorities here.
03:22We're also going to have some 18,000 soldiers on the streets of Paris.
03:27Now, the opening ceremony is taking place on the banks of the River Seine.
03:31We have some six kilometers, which authorities have had to sanitize in the past few days.
03:37Since last week, in fact, since last Thursday, people can only enter the area if they have
03:44a specific QR code on their phones.
03:46Now, to get this QR code, you need to apply for it.
03:50You need to show documents.
03:51You need to show proof of address, et cetera.
03:54And it's not something that you get instantaneously.
03:56This is something that can take days to get.
03:59As you can hear, we're going to have the music ace-pumping.
04:02We have huge crowds, and we're getting the flame here.
04:05Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to get it while we're on air, but yes, the
04:09excitement is clearly palpable as we look forward to that opening ceremony on Friday.