Agency :
Following the arrival of the Olympic torch at the Vieux Port the day before, the relay kicked-off its first stop on French soil in Marseille on Thursday which was imbued with elements of football club Olympique de Marseille.
Basile Boli, the former French international who scored the winning goal in the 1993 Champions League final for Marseille, served as the day’s first torchbearer, starting the relay from the iconic Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde.
“It makes the heart beat and it’s fantastic,” said Boli. “It’s the Olympic flame, it’s the symbol of sport, of living together, of everything we can hope for in the world.”