The official flag of the Olympic Games arrived in France on Monday for the symbolic start of the countdown to the 2024 event.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo brandished the flag minutes after arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport from Tokyo where she had received the banner at the closing ceremony of the 2021 Games.
She was joined on the gantry on the tarmac by Tony Estanguet, who heads the organising committee for the Paris games.
The last athletes of the French delegation were also on the plane from Japan.
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Emotions running high
After a rendition of the French national anthem, Hidalgo, Estanguet and the athletes travelled to Hidalgo's headquarters at the Hotel de Ville where the flag was hoisted.
Hidalgo then urged Parisians and the rest of the nationa to maintain an Olympic feel-good factor around the country.
"I was very moved to see the Olympic flag flying in front of the City Hall," she said on social media.
Très émue de voir le drapeau olympique flotter sur le parvis de l’Hôtel de Ville. Que de chemin parcouru depuis l’obtention des Jeux aux côtés des équipes de #Paris2024. Désormais, faisons vivre l’esprit olympique jusqu’à la cérémonie d'ouverture le 26 juillet 2024 ! pic.twitter.com/UewV5Qf01q
— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) August 9, 2021
"We have come a long way since we won the Games. Now let's keep the Olympic spirit alive until the opening ceremony on 26 July 2024!"
France finished eighth in the 2021 medal table with 10 golds, 12 silver and 11 bronze.
Five years ago in Rio, there were 42 medals overall for French athletes.
