After Allier, the Olympic flame continued its relay in the Loire department on Saturday June 22, 34 days before the start of the Paris Olympic Games. Hostilities began in Roanne, as they often do in pouring rain. In this sub-prefecture known, in particular, for its basketball club, the paracyclist Loïc Vergnaud, three times silver medalist in Tokyo and originally from the town, was part of the relay.
Another para-athlete, Nicolas Virapin, double world record holder in athletics, lit the flame. Today’s collective relay highlighted adapted sport in Roanne. The route then continued in the town of Charlieu, before reaching Montbrison where, in parallel, a relay was held… for fourme, a local cheese. The flame then reached the town of Feurs at midday, where paraddresser Anne-Frédérique Royon was part of the relay.
The cauldron in front of the Cauldron
After Feurs, the relay headed for Saint-Chamond, where several big names in French sport were present. Among them were the discobole Mélina Robert-Michon, silver medalist in Rio in 2016 and who will compete in her fourth Olympics, or Amaury Leveaux, Olympic champion in the 4x100m freestyle in London in 2012. The singers Bianca and Santa were also among the torchbearers.
After a brief visit to Firminy, the convoy moved to Saint-Étienne, its final stop. Welcomed by a massive crowd despite very heavy rain, the relay continued to the square in front of the legendary Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, where the cauldron – fittingly – was lit by Jean-Michel Larqué, ex-legend of AS Saint-Étienne in the 1960s and 1970s. and star consultant.
This passage through the Loire is followed, from Sunday June 23, by a crossing of the Haute-Savoie department. The cauldron will be lit in the emblematic ski resort of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.
