NICOLAS TUCAT
The Olympic torch relay experienced its first incident on Saturday (11) after the cauldron, in which the flame was supposed to be lit overnight, did not light due to a failure in the combustion system.
On the third of the 78 days that the flame will travel through French territory until it reaches Paris on July 26 for the opening ceremony of the Games, swimmer Ophélie-Cyrielle Etienne, bronze medalist at London 2012, tried twice to light the cauldron, unsuccessfully, in the commune of Manosque, north of Marseille.
Organisers reported that there was a technical problem that prevented the lighting from taking place, unlike the first two days in Marseille and Toulou.
In total, about 10,000 people will take turns transporting the Olympic flame through more than 450 cities across France, including overseas territories such as Guadeloupe, New Caledonia and Polynesia.
