Olympic torch lights up France ahead of the Paris Games

Paris: If there was any doubt as to whether the French public would embrace the Olympics, the month of May gave a pretty clear indication, as over a m...

Paris: If there was any doubt as to whether the French public would embrace the Olympics, the month of May gave a pretty clear indication, as over a million spectators turned out to watch the Olympic torch light up its path across the country.

The torch, which has been crossing France for almost a month and is about to leave for the West Indies, has provided the perfect gentle launch for the Games which get underway in Paris with the opening ceremony along the Seine on July 26.

The images from Marseille in the south, where the torch arrived on board the Belem on May 8, to Mont Saint Michel in the north-west have been breathtaking and it has all passed off, thus far, without serious incident.

"There's no denying that Marseille launched the momentum," says Gregory Murac, head of the torch relay for the organising committee.