“There are hundreds of you, thousands of you present to see this flame pass by! » Perched on top of the float of one of the sponsors of the event, the man harangues his audience. Much sparser than his words suggest. “He has to rehearse too to be ready for the big day,” smiles a shopkeeper, out on the steps of his shop to follow the passage of the convoy as it advances through the streets of Nogent-sur-Seine.
First, several law enforcement vans. Organization cars. And, finally, surrounded by 18 police officers and gendarmes renamed “runners” and dressed in a red T-shirt for the occasion, the bearer of the Olympic torch. No flame for the moment: the sacred fire will be lit on April 16 in Olympia in Greece, will arrive by sea in Marseille on May 8 before traveling through French territory until setting the basin ablaze on the evening of July 26 during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. But in the meantime, it’s time for the dress rehearsal across the Aube.
“You are too efficient, you go too fast”
A department chosen to launch six convoys, three “heavy” and three “light”, spread over the entire day of Friday which started at Clairvaux Abbey. The time has come to fine-tune the settings, “rehearse our ranges” says the deputy director of the torch relay, Grégory Murac. There, we move faster than the average 4-5 km/h required for the exercise. On several occasions, there is too much of a gap between the front and the back of the parade. “You are too efficient, you go too fast. So on this passage, we are going to take our time during the breaks,” a member of the organizing committee told the convoy.
Here, the escort of runners squeezes the torch bearer too closely or has to push back a little spectators who are too eager. “We tell them to step back, but with a smile,” explains Benjamin, the gendarme responsible for forming the security bubble around the bearer of the flame. It should be a festive time for everyone, but you never know what someone’s intentions might be. »
On the shores of Lake Orient, the atmosphere is mostly relaxed under the spring sun. “I came to walk my dog, and I saw this world suddenly arrive,” smiles Geoffroy, 29 years old and a golden retriever excited by the spectacle at the end of the leash. Even without the flame, it is still a privilege to see the Olympic flame pass through your life. »
“We took advantage of the moment, something like that will only happen once in a lifetime,” smile Justine and Anne-Aymone, porters chosen by the town hall of Mesnil-Saint-Père. Joël, who handed them the torch during the penultimate handover at the edge of the lake, is already imagining the big day. “There will be lots of people, the beach will be crowded,” anticipates the sixty-year-old. It’s going to be a huge party. »
“We have to be able to remain calm in the event of the unexpected”
The tests follow one another, and also on types of relays practiced elsewhere than in Aube, with a passage on horseback or on a boat. In Troyes, the last stage of the day, the crowds become denser. A final “torch-kiss”, moment when the torchbearer’s torch is supposed to set that of his successor on fire, and the final bearer of the day comes to simulate the lighting of the cauldron in a city parking lot. Empty for once, but with the gestures repeated many times during training.
“The test was extremely conclusive,” smiles Grégory Murac. There are still things to refine, but we have already seen progress between the morning passages and those at the end of the day. » “We have to manage to keep our calm in the event of an unforeseen event, we tend to talk too much on the radios,” continues the president of Cojo, Tony Estanguet.
“It seems to be going well, it was already pleasant to follow,” describes Sophie, retired from Nogent-sur-Seine. But without the flame, it feels like it’s not yet real. So, it makes me even more want to come see it in real life this summer! »
