PARIS (AP) — The 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony went off with only minor hitches after a rough start to the Summer Games. Following suspected acts of sabotage targeting France’s flagship high-speed rail network, a soggy but celebratory parade down the Seine River brought an official start to the Olympics.
Why Celine Dion’s comeback amid stiff person syndrome is so special
She received a standing ovation at this year’s Grammys when she made a surprise appearance to present the final award. That was the beginning of a comeback, completed tonight.
Celine Dion’s Olympics performance marks her return to performing after years. She was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in late 2022, causing her to postpone a tour.
The rare neurological disorder causes rigid muscles and painful muscle spasms, which were affecting Dion’s ability to walk and sing. In June, at the premiere of the documentary “I Am: Celine Dion” she told The Associated Press that returning required therapy, “physically, mentally, emotionally, vocally.”
“So that’s why it takes a while. But absolutely why we’re doing this because I’m already a little bit back,” she said.
The Olympic cauldron takes flight from the site of another famous balloon ride
The identity of the person who would light the Olympic cauldron (spoiler alert: Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner) was up in the air … and so, it turns out, was the cauldron itself: a ring of fire carried by a hot-air balloon.
The ring is 7 meters in diameter (about 23 feet), and the balloon is 30 meters (about 100 feet) tall and 22 meters (about 72 feet) wide.
Instead of the usual ground-bound cauldron used at most Summer and Winter Games, the special edition for the Paris Olympics is intended as a tribute to the first ride taken in a hydrogen-filled gas balloon — made in 1783 by two of that balloon’s French inventors. They departed back then from the Tuileries Garden, which is near the Louvre Museum in the heart of Paris and where the Olympic cauldron was lit before floating into the sky.
Created by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, the cauldron is meant as a symbol of liberty – an element in the national slogan of “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.”
Celine Dion serenades Paris from the Eiffel Tower
Celine Dion has arrived! The French-Canadian pop star followed the lighting of the Olympic cauldron by performing from the Eiffel Tower.
The Olympic cauldron is lit — and floats into the Paris sky via air balloon
Charles Coste, the oldest French Olympic champion at 100, took the Olympic flame from his wheelchair, then passed it on to French judo great Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-José Pérec. They lit a cauldron attached to a giant balloon, which then floated into the Paris night.
Olympic torch passes between French athletes on final leg
Mauresmo and Parker handed off to a trio of French para-athletes, including Nantenin Keïta, who is the daughter of famed Mali musician Salif Keita. A series of handoffs followed to more than a dozen French athletes.
Amelie Mauresmo, Tony Parker bring torch to the Louvre
When the boat reached land, Nadal used the torch his group had to light one held by former tennis player Amelie Mauresmo. She won two Grand Slam titles, reached No. 1 in the rankings and coached Andy Murray; she is now the tournament director for the French Open.
Mauresmo handed her torch to former NBA player Tony Parker, and they began jogging together under a falling rain near the Louvre.
The Olympic torch finishes its journey along the Seine
People still lining the Alexander III Bridge cheered with joy as the Olympic torch passed by on the boat.
Carl Lewis, Nadia Comaneci help finish Olympic torch relay
Other athletes on the boat involved in the torch relay were retired track star Carl Lewis, an American with nine Olympic gold medals, and retired gymnast Nadia Comaneci, a Romanian with five golds.
Zidane, Nadal, Serena help with final torch relay
The final torch relay late in the ceremony involved retired soccer star Zinedine Zidane, who led France to the 1998 World Cup title, and several non-French stars.
Zidane handed off to Rafael Nadal, a Spaniard who won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam tennis titles at the French Open. Then, on a boat along the Seine, Nadal gave the torch to Serena Williams, an American who collected three of her 23 major singles championships in Paris.
Eiffel Tower light show wows crowd
After staring in awe at the Eiffel Tower light show, crowds once again jumping up and down and bopping to electronic music.
Lights from the monument can be seen as rays through the rain over the Seine, leaving the cloudy sky glowing.
And now, it’s officially official: Macron declares the Paris Games open
French President Emmanuel Macron has said the words that make it official: He has declared the Paris Games open.
Macron did so just before French flag bearers Florent Manaudou and Mélina Robert-Michon took the Olympic Oath on behalf of all the athletes taking part in the Olympic Games. The oath represents how athletes understand they must respect the rules of fair play.
The Olympic flag was raised upside down
The five-ring Olympic flag was raised upside down at Trocadero across the way from the Eiffel Tower.
The gaffe happened about three hours into the opening ceremony. Four officers of the Republican Guard were handed the flag, unfurled it and then moved it to the top of a pole. But the yellow and green rings that are supposed to be at the bottom were at the top; the blue, black and red rings that are supposed to be on top were underneath.
The flag was designed in 1914 by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics. The five rings represent continents: blue for Europe, black for Africa, red for America, yellow for Asia, green for Australia.
A message of hope and gratitude to the Olympic athletes
Tony Estanguet, the president of Paris 2024 and a three-time canoe slalom gold medalist, offered the Olympic athletes a message of hope at the opening ceremony Friday night.
And he thanked them for being in Paris.
“Dear athletes, we can’t wait to live it all with you,” he said. “The joy. The tears. And the love that you will put in each moment. Thank you so much for being here. You made it. Bravo. I know what it means. I know what it took. I know the paths you have followed to be here. Paris will give back to you. It’s the city of love. And for the next 16 days, it is your city.”
Algerian athletes throw red roses in the Seine, honoring victims of ’61 crackdown
Algeria reminded France of a dark chapter of its colonial past during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
Algerian athletes brought red roses on their boat as they paraded for the event, and then tossed them into the river to honor victims of an infamous 1961 police crackdown on Algerian protesters in Paris. Historians say some 120 protesters died and 12,000 were arrested as they demonstrated in support of independence from France, then Algeria’s colonial ruler. Some were thrown in the Seine River.
Algeria won its independence in 1962 after a long war.
In Friday’s Olympics parade, some athletes chanted ‘’Long live Algeria!’’ in Arabic after throwing the flowers.
Some athletes seem to be leaving the opening ceremony early
Although organizers said 6,800 athletes would attend the parade, far fewer than that appear to have stayed after boats docked for the last part of the ceremony, held in a temporary arena facing the Eiffel Tower.
The crowd of athletes there, many wearing clear plastic ponchos, had thinned to a couple of thousand at most.
For countries with one Olympian, there’s room on someone else’s boat
Four delegations have just one athlete competing at the Games. They are Belize, Liechtenstein, Nauru and Somalia.
None of them had their own boat for the opening ceremony on the Seine. Being the lone athlete has its perks, though: You are a sure thing to be the flag bearer. Mountain bike racer Romano Puentener of Liechtenstein is the youngest of the four — he’s 20.
So far, the Paris opening ceremony is unlike anything we’ve seen
Three hours in, and the Paris Olympics opening ceremony has been a magnificent — if soggy — success. It’s almost hard to believe after the day began with arsonists attacking the French high-speed rail system.
The 90 boats carrying 6,800 athletes have completed the roughly 90-minute Seine River parade route. It’s been an unprecedented display of Olympic spirit, one that appears to have gone without a hitch.
There have been memorable musical performances from Lady Gaga, metal band Gojira and others. Stunning artistic displays utilized Paris’ many historical landmarks. And critically, no known interruptions despite concerns over safety and security across the sprawling Olympic stage — and no one’s fallen into the choppy Seine.
‘Every Olympics is different, and this one was very French’
Sofia Cohen, 20, and her father Michael Cohen, 62, were among packs of people grinning and jumping up and down, pumping their fist to music after boats had already passed.
Calling the opening ceremony “electric,” the Nicaraguan-Americans chatted about their favorite moments, agreeing that the roar of applause the Ukrainian team got as it drifted by on boat was their favorite part.
“Every Olympics is different, and this one was very French. The ceremony started out very magestic and regal. And as the rain started pouring down and time went on, everything got a little more hectic and fun,” Sofia said. “Everyone was just going crazy.
About that Dionysus performance
French singer and actor Philippe Katerine, singing a song named “Naked,” is known for his irreverent sense of humor.
Aged 55, he became popular in France in the 2000s with his dance beat “Louxor, j’adore,” which he performed Friday almost naked with his body painted in blue to represent Dyonisus, the god of wine.
The choppy Seine River is making for a bumpy ride
Up close, the waters of the Seine River looked choppy indeed. As boats approached the Alexander III Bridge, they all appeared to veer off to the side. And the smaller boats were clearly having a bumpy ride.
John Lennon’s “Imagine” makes its traditional Olympic appearance
One of the ideals of the Olympics is peace, which makes John Lennon’s “Imagine” a natural fit for the opening ceremony.
It has become a tradition, one that continued Friday at the opening of the Paris Games, for Lennon’s peace anthem to be part of the opening.
“The Olympic Games must always build bridges. The Olympic Games must never erect walls. Imagine. You may say we are dreamers. We are not the only ones,” IOC president Thomas Bach said exactly one year ago Friday, borrowing from the song.
An opening ceremony on the other side of the world
Olympic surfers competing in Tahiti, French Polynesia, got their own chance to shine about 10,000 miles (15,000 kilometers) away from Paris, when TV showed them gathering on a beach for a ceremony centered on Polynesian culture.
The 12-hour time difference from Paris means it was a little before 10 a.m. on Friday in Tahiti when the surfing athletes were briefly on screens around the world. Some held flags or scarfs showing their countries’ names.
It’s an ancestral tradition in Polynesian culture used as a prelude to important events to secure the peace and union of those in competition against each other.
Surfing is expected to begin Saturday, depending on when swales arrive and the angle and size of the waves.
LeBron James: ‘The rain can’t stop us’
Even LeBron James was moved by his experience at the opening ceremony.
By his company, too.
The four-time NBA MVP and tennis star Coco Gauff were the flag bearers for the U.S.
“For myself and Coco, for us to be able to represent our country,” James said, “us being Black kids as well, represent our culture and represent where we come from, it gives everybody so much hope where we come from, and that’s all we can ask for. We take it with the utmost responsibility and the utmost honor.”
James joined a large contingent of American athletes on a boat on the Seine River on a rainy night in Paris. With Gauff by his side — both clad in clear ponchos — James bobbed his head as he held the flag at the front of the boat.
“The rain can’t stop us,” James said.
A perk for flag bearer Coco Gauff: better pins
Pins are currency at any Olympics: people trade them, people want them, people save them and it’s all been a tradition for decades.
And U.S. flag bearer and tennis star Coco Gauff is evidently a big player on the pin circuit since her selection to lead the American delegation into the opening ceremony alongside LeBron James.
“I can say it’s upped her pin game tremendously,” U.S. tennis coach Kathy Rinaldi said. “Just hanging around Coco, we’re getting the really good pins.”
Paris volunteers are dancing in the rain
About two dozen Olympic volunteers started to dance together in the rain in front of the bleachers at the Du Carosel viewing point. Fans who hadn’t been chased away by the downpour cheered as they bounced and jumped around.
Rain, laughter and some concern about performance
“The rain made it more funny to be honest,” said Austrian marathon swimmer Jan Hercog, who’ll compete in the Seine, if it is clean enough. “There were people standing on the roofs and on famous buildings that I have just seen in books and on TV. … I was like, ‘Woah, that’s crazy.’ They were cheering. I was nearly crying.”
He said he was “really worried” about the potential that the wet evening could impact his performance. He said he’d take vitamin C and some supplements to pep him up after the ceremony.
Britain recreates Titanic — minus the iceberg
Tom Daley and Helen Glover inserted a scene from “Titanic” into the opening ceremony.
Luckily for Daley and Glover, there was no iceberg in sight.
Daley and Glover — the flag bearers for Britain — put their own little twist on the blockbuster 1997 movie while floating on their country’s boat on the River Seine.
Daley, a diver, held his arms out as he stood near a railing, and Glover, a rower, had her arms wrapped around his waist while holding the British flag.
Britain’s team account posted a picture of the scene. The caption read: “Near, far, wherever you are..”
All eyes on U.S. men’s flag bearer LeBron James
Athletes from the United States travel by boat down the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
At 6-foot-9, U.S. flag bearer and NBA icon LeBron James is pretty easy to spot. And there are no shortage of Olympians trying to find him at the Paris Games.
“I want to take a picture with a few guys from tennis and from NBA — LeBron James and Steph Curry,” Angola handball player and flag bearer Azenaide Carlos said.
Added Italian tennis player Sara Errani, when asked which athlete she wants to most meet: “LeBron James. Why? I don’t think there’s any need to add a reason, but for sure because I am a big basketball fan.”
James was selected in a vote among Team USA’s captains. Other nations use different methods for choosing flag bearers; Australia chef de mission Anna Meares revealed her nation’s picks — canoe-kayak Olympic champion Jessica Fox and field hockey’s Eddie Ockenden — earlier this week, and said James having the same honor piqued even more interest in the flag bearer role.
“There’s also a lot of excitement in the Australian team that LeBron James is their flagbearer,” Meares said.
Palestinians cheered on the Seine River
Palestine’s entrance was met with cheers. Like many crisis-stricken nations, the country’s delegation is small and many of the athletes are Palestinian descendants or trained in other countries to be here.
▶ Read more about the Palestinian Olympic team
Paris honors important female figures with 10 gold-colored statues
The ceremony celebrated women, including by featuring 10 gold-colored statues of great French female figures.
During a performance of the national anthem “La Marseillaise,” the statues arose from giant pedestals along the river near France’s lower house of parliament.
Among the pioneering women honored was Olympe de Gouges, who drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen in 1791 during the French Revolution. She campaigned for the abolition of slavery and was guillotined in 1793.
The others: Simone de Beauvoir, a philosopher and writer; Gisèle Halimi, a lawyer and activist; Paulette Nardal, a writer; Jeanne Barret, an explorer and botanist; Christine de Pizan, a writer; Louise Michel, a feminist activist; Alice Guy, a movie director and producer; Alice Milliat, organizer of the first Women’s World Games; Simone Veil, a politician and magistrate. The statues will be given to the City of Paris – which currently has 260 statues of men and just 40 or so of women.
France only recently has started honoring its great female figures. Until 2015, the Pantheon monument, which is the final resting place of dozens of national heroes, had only one woman among them: Marie Curie. Since then, four other women have been inducted.
These Summer Games aim to be the first Olympics with equal numbers of women and men competing.
The French are in the water, the last country to join the Seine parade
Last but certainly not least, the French delegation has joined of the opening ceremony’s athletes’ parade.
It passed under the Austerlitz Bridge shortly after 9:15 p.m. to huge cheers from the rain-soaked crowd lining the riverbanks and watching from nearby apartment windows. Fans chanted “Allez les Bleus, Allez les Bleus” — a famed chant for the nation’s various sports teams.
The first countries have finally reached the end of the Seine parade route
Athletes on the first boats began to arrive at the Trocadero around 9 p.m., most of them wearing clear ponchos over their uniforms. They could be here for more than 2 1/2 more hours as the other nations disembark before the ceremonies began official elements, including the athletes’ oath.
Maybe the French have bad luck
Some people don’t want to leave the ceremony despite the rain and are trying to find cover so they can keep watching.
“I like the show, but I don’t want to be out in the rain for three hours,” said Guillermo Saez, who found shelter under a small bridge in the viewing area. “It’s unfortunate that it’s raining, it (the ceremony) was promising,” he added, noting that the French had bad luck.
More fans are leaving their seats as rain picks up
More seats are being left empty along the parade route as the rain picks up in Paris. The athletes are still floating down the Seine, and many fans have still stuck around with umbrellas and ponchos.
Minions pay homage to Jules Verne for laughs during opening ceremony
The section of the opening ceremony featuring Paris-based animation studio Illumination’s Minions characters nodded to French writer Jules Verne’s 1870 adventure novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas” and began with a visual reference to actor and filmmaker Georges Méliès’s influential 1902 short film “A Trip to the Moon,” also based on a Verne book.
French flag raised in the rain at the Trocadero
The mezzo-soprano Axelle Saint-Cirel just performed a reimagined version of “The Marseillaise,” which is France’s national anthem, in a downpour as the opening ceremony moves along.
It coincided with the raising of the French flag at the Trocadero. As has been the case at the last few Olympics at least, the flagpole came equipped with fans that extended the flag out full horizontally.
Loud cheers could be heard for the majority of the anthem.
Haiti’s athletes are representing with pride
A small delegation from Haiti is floating down the Seine. Like other crisis-stricken nations in the Olympics, many in the delegation are from other countries and have parents or grandparents that migrated from Haiti.
The Caribbean nation — a French and Creole-speaking country that shares a long, troubled history with France, its former colonizer — has largely become too dangerous for athletes to train there.
That said, for some in the delegation who spoke to the AP, representing their family’s country is a point of pride for a nation that has long been spoken down to.
Germany’s Dennis Schroder calls flagbearer honor ‘insane’
Basketball player Dennis Schroder says it’s “insane” that he was picked to be Germany’s flag bearer. And he loved every second of it, with a big smile on his face as the boat carrying his team made its way down the River Seine.
“With my background as well, my mom’s from Gambia, me being dark skinned in Germany, been tough sometimes growing up but now to be able to represent Germany, it’s insane,” Schroder said. “It’s great for my family, not just for me, but people who have similar background. It’s a big, a huge, statement in Germany.”
Schroder, a member of Germany’s reigning World Cup champion team who plays for the Brooklyn Nets, is one of three flag bearers from the NBA in Friday’s opening ceremony. Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James of the U.S. are the others.
Nigeria women’s basketball team denied entry to opening ceremony, AP source says
The Nigeria women’s basketball team wasn’t allowed to board the delegation’s boat for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics by one of the country’s officials, said a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Nigeria delegation has not publicly commented.
Once the team made it to the area where they were supposed to board the boat and be a part of the ceremony, they were denied entry by a Nigerian official who told them that there were too many people on board. The team made its way to the athletes village after being turned away.
▶ Read more about the Nigeria women’s basketball team
The Seine is getting a little choppy
The weather is getting worse at the opening ceremony. And there’s now a new challenge: waves.
OK, they’re not enough for surfing, but if anyone in the athletes’ procession is prone to seasickness, here’s hoping they have a remedy nearby.
The boats are seeming to bounce on the Seine River a bit more than they did when the ceremony began — amid a break in the rain.
It’s been raining steadily for about a half-hour now. Most athletes have pulled transparent ponchos over their snazzy opening-ceremony outfits.
A small trickle of spectators have begun to file out of the ceremony. The vast majority of people continue to brave the rain.
Team Israel jeered by some fans along parade route
A few fans just jeered Israel as it went past on a shared boat, but not many. The Italian delegation on the same boat quickly chanted “Italia! Italia!”
The Seine River has some low bridges
Athletes on some of the larger boats had to lower the flags they were waving while passing through some of the smaller bridges on the Seine River. The steady rain in Paris made some of the athletes stay under cover during parts of the parade.
Refugee team met with huge cheers along the Seine
The Olympic Refugee Team was met with huge cheers as it floated down the Seine.
In the lead up to the ceremony, a video showing graphics of people fleeing their countries cut over athletes running and boxing. It called on those watching the Olympics to support refugees. With dozens of athletes, this is the biggest Olympic Refugee Team since it was formed for the 2016 Games.
The team has also stirred controversy in some cases as countries like Cuba and Venezuela have complained, saying athletes from those countries should not be considered for the Games.
Meet Aya Nakamura
French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world, sang her hit “Djadja” accompanied by the orchestra of the French Republican Guard.
Nakamura likes to play with the French language and combine it with argot and expressions in English. She has been the target of a flurry of racist comments from the far right earlier this year when her name emerged as possibly participating in the opening ceremony. She received support from the Paris Olympics organizers and the French government.
Paris prosecutors in March said they were investigating into allegations of racist attacks against the singer
With enough money, you too could be on the Seine River right now
The boats with athletes were not the only ones on the Seine River during the opening ceremony. Fans who could afford hefty prices could watch the parade from party and restaurant boats docked along the river.
The “front-row” locations were the closest that fans could get to the parade.
Meet Marina Viotti and Gojira
Marina Viotti and Gojira merged the elements of opera and rock metal music on the global stage.
Gojira brought their progressive and technical death metal style while Viotti inserted her mezzo-soprano vocals.
Gojira is regarded as one of the most prominent metal acts, earning Grammy nominations for their albums “Magma” and “Fortitude.” The four-man group includes brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier along with Christian Andreu and Jean-Michael Labadie.
In 2019, Viotti was awarded the “Best Young Singer of the Year” at the prestigious International Opera Awards in London. Along with her ability to play the flute, she she experimented with jazz, gospel and heavy metal.
But Viotti steered her music career in the direction of opera, which made her a sought-after concert singer.
Meet Guillaume Diop
Guillaume Diop is a history-making performer who was appointed as the Paris Opera’s first Black star dancer. Last year, he was promoted into the ballet’s coveted top rank.
Since he began at the Paris Opera in 2018, Diop has danced in several Etoile roles such as “La Bayadere,” “Don Quixote,” “Swan Lake” and “Romeo and Juliet.” He also published the 2020 manifesto called “About the Race Question in Opera.”
Diop was born in Paris to a French mother and Senegalese father.
Snoop Dog is watching with Simone Biles’ mom
Snoop Dogg, who earlier Friday ran with the torch, appeared on the NBC broadcast of the opening ceremony with the family of Simone Biles.
The gymnast could not participate in the opening ceremony because she’s preparing to compete on Sunday.
Nellie Biles used the opportunity to tell Snoop Dogg they he had met the family before, which was news to the musical artist.
“I didn’t know this, Nellie,” he said with surprise. Biles’ mother than recounted an encounter in 2010 in Times Square when they asked the artist for a photo with the budding gymnast, “and you said ‘2 minutes. One, two.’ And then you were gone.”
Snoop Dogg laughed and Nellie Biles then tried to Facetime her daughter to give Simone the chance to speak to Snoop.
It’s raining again
Rain ponchos and umbrellas are out again in the stands as it continues to drizzle.
One man walked up to a volunteer asking: “Do you guys have ponchos to give out?”
Despite that, the mood in the stands is lively and people are dancing to music echoing over the river.
Fans further down the Seine watch on TVs waiting for the parade
Fans in the sitting sections down the route of the opening ceremony had to watch the parade on large screens until the boats carrying the athletes arrived at their location.
The fans reacted to what they were seeing with claps and cheers. It rained during moments of the parade, prompting fans to take out their umbrellas and rain coats.
NBC touts opening ceremony’s commercial-free hour
If you’re watching the Olympics in the U.S., you won’t have to contend with a commercial for the first hour.
NBC says this is the first time the U.S. broadcaster has had a commercial-free hour for the opening ceremony. Instead of ads, brand logos for six sponsors are rotating through the hour.
Why are the nations out of order? Well, they’re not
In case you’re wondering why the nations aren’t coming into the opening ceremony in alphabetical order, they are.
Sort of.
Greece, per Olympic tradition as the originator of the ancient games, almost always enters the ceremony first (the most recent exception was 2004, when it hosted the Athens Games).
The Refugee Team enters second now, and then it shifts to alphabetical order — that is, the French alphabet.
And the final three nations to enter the ceremony will have nothing to do with the alphabet. Australia goes second-to-last because it’ll host the 2032 Brisbane Games, the U.S. goes next to last because it’ll host the 2028 Los Angeles Games, and host France will be the final nation to hit the River Seine.
Lady Gaga’s cabaret show was pre-recorded
Singer and actress Lady Gaga performed a cabaret number on a golden staircase beside the Seine, emerging from behind pink feathers — an act pre-recorded and then shown on the television broadcasts.
Lady Gaga sang the French song “Mon truc en plumes” (“My thing in feathers”) by Zizi Jeanmaire. She was accompanied by 10 dancers and 17 musicians — all wearing costumes from House of Dior, which is owned by a major Olympic sponsor.
Refugee team captures Stephen Curry’s attention
The Refugee team — 37 athletes from 11 countries of origin, representing the world’s displaced population of over 100 million people — was the second team in the procession of athletes.
And it has already captured the attention of U.S. basketball star Stephen Curry.
“It shines a light,” Curry said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to be on an amazing stage. To compete, glad that there’s space for those athletes to come represent themselves. I’m going to be a fan. I’m going to watch all the sports, all the events and I’m going to watch them, too.”
The refugee team was created by the IOC for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to allow athletes to keep competing, even if they have been forced to leave their home countries.
There were 10 refugee athletes in Rio, then 29 at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Behind Afghanistan’s participation in the Olympics
There are six Afghan athletes participating in the Olympics — three men and three women. According to the IOC, five are based outside Afghanistan while one is based in the country.
The Afghan National Olympic Committee, which was elected before the Taliban seized power, had to confirm that their athletes were not associated with the “de facto Taliban authorities of the country,” the IOC said.
Some countries are sharing large boats
Not all countries had their own boats in the opening ceremony, with as many as five countries sharing some vessels.
The first shared boat was occupied by Olympians from Afghanistan, South Africa, Albania, Algeria and Germany. Right behind them came a boat filled with delegates from Antigua and Barbuda, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Armenia and Aruba, with each nation in separate sections of the vessel waving flags, dancing and taking videos with their phones.
Lady Gaga makes surprise appearance
Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance at the opening ceremony, performing in French.
She wasn’t on the official guide distributed to media beforehand, but her participation was heavily rumored after she was spotted in Paris in the run-up to the ceremony.
The singer-actor will likely be spending a lot of time in Europe this summer. Venice Film Festival organizers announced this week that “Joker: Folie à Deux” would play in competition at the festival kicking of Aug. 28.
Jill Biden attends opening ceremony, snaps her own photos
U.S. first lady Jill Biden took photos from a viewpoint as the opening ceremony began. Earlier Friday, she met with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at the Elysee palace. She also visited with some U.S. athletes after she got to Paris on Thursday.
A moment for South Africa
Caitlin Rooskrantz is the first gymnast to be a flag bearer for South Africa, an honor that comes three years after she became one of the first two women of color to represent her country in that sport.
She said the nomination is “really, really massive” for her, for South African gymnastics and her country.
“It is such a statement about where gymnastics in South Africa is, the big strides we’ve made over the last couple of years and that this is only the beginning,” Rooskrantz said.
Greece’s boat is the first to emerge from beneath the Austerlitz Bridge
As a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke in the colors of the French flag rose over the top of Austerlitz Bridge, it drew a huge roar from the crowd gathered along the riverbanks. Giant jets of water spurted up from the river as the Greek delegation — as always — was the first boat under the bridge and along the 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route.
Among the 101 Greek athletes: basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo, holding the country’s flag.
Helicopters hovering over opening ceremony route
At least three helicopters were flying near the route of the opening ceremony along the Seine River, going back and forth minutes before the parade was to begin. Some of the stands got filled just moments before the event got underway.
The ceremony starts with a hush — and Zidane
Everything has gone silent over the bridge near Notre Dame.
Only the blades of a helicopter can be heard in the distance.
All eyes are riveted on the giant screens set up along the Seine. A bell rings, soccer legend Zinedine Zidane appears on the screen to a round of applause. We’re off!
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony has begun!
Spectators wave French national flags while waiting at the Seine river front in Paris, France, for the start of opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
And away we go!
One of the most-watched television events in the world with an estimated 1.5 billion people set to turn in from all corners of the globe, has started in Paris.
Organizers say the show will last for about three hours, though if history is any guide that estimate is on the low side.
Opening ceremony, by the numbers
Some of the numbers for the opening ceremony, as released by Olympic organizers:
Serena Williams is ‘a little jealous’ of Paris Olympians
Retired tennis great Serena Williams said she was “a little jealous” of the tennis players in the Paris Olympics.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist said she enjoyed playing at Wimbledon’s All England Club in the 2012 London Games and would have liked to be part of the event this time at Roland Garros, which hosts the French Open.
Williams walked the red carpet in a red dress and heels ahead of the opening ceremony with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and their 6-year-old daughter, Olympia. When Olympia was asked what she is most looking forward to at the Paris Games, Williams’ oldest daughter said, “All of the things.”
Judo to be well-represented among flag-bearers
Most flag bearers for Friday’s opening ceremony come from track and field (about 25% of the names released ahead of time by the International Olympic Committee) and swimming (roughly 18%).
That’s not a surprise, but the next sport might be.
There are 37 judo athletes selected as flag bearers for their various national teams, the third-most of any discipline. In terms of total athletes, judo is the sixth-biggest sport at the Paris Games with 378 qualifiers, behind track and field (2,122), swimming (696), soccer (515), rowing (492) and field hockey (384).
IMG Academy has 14 Olympians from 11 countries and territories
At IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, some 4,600 miles from Paris, they’ll be watching the Olympics with tons of interest. And for good reason.
The school has 14 alums in the Paris Games, representing 11 countries and territories.
The list:
Making it to Paris, IMG athletic director Brian Nash said, “is an incredible testament to everything these individuals have worked their entire lives for. We are looking forward to watching them compete on the world’s largest stage, and are so proud of our coaches, trainers, and support staff who have helped get them there.”
IMG will be hosting watch parties and streaming of the games on campus throughout the Olympics.
A look at the Seine River route
The parade starts at the Austerlitz Bridge beside the Jardin des Plantes and follows the course of the Seine from east to west. It makes its way around two islands in the center of the city before passing under several bridges and gateways.
Athletes aboard the boats will get glimpses of several Olympic venues including La Concorde Urban Park (3X3 basketball, breaking, BMX freestyle cycling, skateboarding), Invalides (archery, athletics, marathon finish, road cycling) and the Grand Palais (fencing, taekwondo).
The parade ends at the Iena Bridge, which links the Eiffel Tower on the left bank of the Seine to the Trocadéro district on the right bank. The ceremony’s finale is at the Trocadéro. There, among other ceremonial procedures, French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver opening remarks.
▶ Read more about the Olympics opening ceremony
Lady Gaga rehearses near Austerlitz Bridge shortly before opening ceremony
Lady Gaga rehearsed for about an hour near the Austerlitz Bridge, a sign that the American pop star will perform at Friday’s opening ceremony.
She finished up around 5:40 p.m., two hours before the ceremony was set to begin, and waved to fans as she walked off with her bandmembers.
The area near the start of the Olympic parade route where she was singing features a makeshift yellow staircase in the traditional style of the old French subways, with an improvised subway sign simply but appropriately called PARIS.
Her representatives would not confirm to the Associated Press that she was performing.
Fans line Seine River with flags
Fans are draping flags over the sides of viewing areas along the Seine River and from nearby apartment windows and balconies.
The French tricolor flag is prominent, but there are also flags from Mexico, South Korea, Austria, Denmark, Germany, the United States and Greece.
Frustrated spectators ‘pushed through a cattle pen’ at opening ceremony venue
Spectators are rushing into the venue near Invalides after waiting for hours, initially told scanners at their entrance were broken.
It left a number of older spectators like 66-year-old Erica Chammas flustered and frustrated as many visitors pushed into her and a number of young children in line.
“They were pushed through a cattle pen all through one door,” the 66-year-old English-French woman said. “They way we were let in was shocking. The little girl next to me was nearly trampled.”
Plantains, with a side of flag-bearing
Fried plantains are a staple, a beloved side dish in the Caribbean and some other parts of the world.
And a recent serving for Jamaican triple jumper Shanieka Ricketta probably tasted better than any she could remember.
She was frying up a batch recently when her agent called with news: Jamaican teammates chose her as a flag bearer for Friday night’s opening ceremony at the Paris Games.
“I was, ‘Yes!’” she said. “I was just so happy because I was not expecting this honor.”
The rain is starting. And it’s going to get worse.
A drizzle has started at the Trocadero, the finish of the opening ceremony. And it’s time for a new Olympic sport — the covering up of everything.
Journalists at outdoor workspaces have pulled tarps over their laptops to protect them from the rain. VIPs in attendance have pulled on their ponchos, and there are tons of umbrellas now deployed — many with the Olympic rings, of course.
Forecasters say it’s only going to get worse.
Macron welcomes world leaders, delivers message of peace
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed several dozen of heads of state and government at the Elysee presidential palace Friday afternoon.
Macron’s office said the Elysee reception was “an opportunity for France to deliver a message of peace and tolerance as 10,500 athletes from around the world gather to take part in the world’s biggest event.”
About 100 world leaders, government officials and heads of international organizations were expected to attend the ceremony.
Fans are making their way to the banks of the Seine River
At Pont au Change, an iconic bridge close to the Châtelet theatre and Notre Dame cathedral, dozens of spectators are slowly making their way to the shores of the Seine River ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
The atmosphere is subdued for now, with just a few police sirens wailing in the distance as spectators go through police screenings without complaining.
How will Olympic athletes board their opening ceremony boats?
Organizers have devoted a vast area along the banks of the Seine River where athletes will board their boats for the opening ceremony. The space in the east of Paris has room for several of the 90 boats carrying around 6,800 athletes to dock at the same time. The parade officially begins at the Austerlitz Bridge.
Celeb alert!!! Pharrell Williams carrying Olympic torch
French TV is showing Pharrell Williams carrying the Olympic flame atop the cathedral of Saint-Denis, on the northern outskirts of Paris.
The town of Saint-Denis has a long relationship with royalty — and it hasn’t always been kind. In all, 42 kings, 32 queens and 63 princes and princesses were buried over the centuries in its basilica — only to be dug up again during the French Revolution and tossed into mass graves.
The Olympic flame was also lit under cloudy skies
The weather also worked against the Paris Games when the Olympic flame was lit April16 in Greece.
Cloudy skies blocked the sun, meaning its rays couldn’t be harnessed to light the flame, as is traditional. Had all gone to plan, an actress dressed as an ancient Greek priestess would have dipped the fuel-filled torch into a parabolic mirror which focuses the sun’s rays on it, and fire spurts forth. But this year, she didn’t even try, going straight for a backup flame, kept in a copy of an ancient Greek pot.
The flame arrived May 8 in France and has toured the county and French territories overseas before arriving in Paris for the opening ceremony.
Rain is expected to pick up during the opening ceremony
France’s national weather service, Meteo France, is forecasting up to 12 millimeters (roughly half an inch) of rain in Paris during the opening ceremony.
Rain is expected to pick up around 6 p.m., roughly 90 minutes before athletes begin parading down the Seine River.
Security along the Seine
Police officers in flak jackets wandered the shores of the Seine as people on Olympic floats practiced for their big debut in the opening ceremonies.
Streets, brimming with police vehicles, were blocked off with multiple layers of security and bag checks. French authorities appeared on high alert for a potential threat in an event set during a moment of larger global tensions.
Celia Perez Cuenca, a Spanish fencing champion visiting to support the Spanish Olympic team, was among those by the Seine as the ceremony geared up.
She said the high level of security was a welcome sight.
“It’s an important event where many different nations gather together,” she said. “I think this kind of security at this moment is very necessary to assure that all the competitors are safe.”
Coco Gauff to be female flag bearer for US team, joining LeBron James
Tennis star Coco Gauff will join LeBron James as a flag bearer for the U.S. Olympic team at today’s opening ceremony.
Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open champion, is set to make her Olympic debut and will be the first tennis athlete to carry the American flag. She and James were chosen by Team USA athletes.
▶ Read more about the U.S. team flag bearers
The opening ceremony is near. And there’s still lots of work to do
They’ve been preparing for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics for years.
Evidently, it’ll go down to the wire.
Around the Trocadero, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and essentially the finish line of the ceremony, workers were still scrambling to get things done late Friday afternoon, not long before the event was to begin. Equipment was being driven in on forklifts, workers were stapling a covering — presumably no-slip, since rain is expected — to the stage and even some vendor booths were still under construction.
All that, with the start of the ceremony about three hours away.
Meet Thomas Jolly, the artistic director behind the opening ceremony
He’s an actor and a stage director, and no stranger to spectacles on a grand scale.
Thomas Jolly was tapped two years ago as the artistic director of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
Plans for tonight’s ceremony were kept closely guarded, but Jolly told The Associated Press beforehand that he wanted to share France with the world.
“France is a story that never stops being constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed. It’s alive, it remains alive,” he said.
▶ Read more about Thomas Jolly
Camping out for the opening ceremony
People arrived hours before the start of the opening ceremony along the Seine River, seeking the best spot at the viewing areas. Some brought folding chairs, books, sandwiches and water.
Monica Merino, 57, came to Paris from Madrid for the Olympics and said it would be her first time watching the opening ceremony in person.
“We have visited Paris many times, and it is very different now because it is empty of people and full of military and police,” she said.
Giannis skirts train troubles
Greek basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo, selected as one of his country’s flagbearers, avoided Friday’s train issues altogether.
He left Lille on Thursday, traveling in a convoy of buses alongside players from a few other teams. A team spokesperson said multiple teams chose to travel at the same time for security purposes.
Germany’s men’s team boarded buses bound for the ceremony Friday morning, having never planned to travel by train. The plan was to then to immediately head back to Lille for Saturday’s game against Japan.
The Paris Olympics have sold a record 9.7 million tickets — but more are available
After getting off to a rocky start last year, Olympics 2024 organizers said the Paris Games have broken the record for the most number of tickets sold or allocated in the event’s history. And yet, tickets are still available.
Organizers say 9.7 million tickets were sold or allocated for this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 8.7 million sold for the former and 1 million for the latter.
For Paris, a total of 10 million tickets were put on sale for the Olympics — meaning that despite the historic popularity of the sporting events and unprecedented scale of this year’s competitions, there will still be many empty seats remaining.
The total ticketing figure will, however, likely rise because tickets are still on sale for some of the 45 sports.
Snoop Dogg keeps it lit
The rapper-turned-NBC Olympics correspondent was one of the final Olympic torch bearers before the opening ceremony. He carried the flame in Saint-Denis, just outside Paris.
In an interview before his leg of the relay, Snoop Dogg vowed to be on his “best behavior.”
“I’m going to be on my best athleticism. I’ll be able to breathe slow to walk fast and hold the torch with a smile on my face, because I realize how prestigious this event is,” he said.
Two trains carrying Olympic athletes stopped en route to Paris
Two trains carrying Olympic athletes to Paris on the western Atlantique line were stopped hours before the opening ceremony, rail company SNCF said.
One train was canceled, and authorities hope the other will become operational.
How to watch the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony
The ceremony will air on NBC and stream on Peacock and NBC Olympic platforms — NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, NBC app, NBC Olympics app.
A preview will air on NBC at noon EDT, with live coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. and an enhanced prime-time encore at 7:30 p.m.
About 220,000 invited and security-screened spectators are expected to fill the upper tiers of the Seine’s banks, and an additional 104,000 paying spectators will watch from the lower riverside and around the Trocadéro plaza. Those in Paris who could not get tickets will be able to watch the ceremony on 80 giant screens set up throughout the city.
▶ Read more about how to watch the opening ceremony
Who will light the Olympic cauldron?
Even the person or people who will have that honor still didn’t know they were been picked just hours before the opening ceremony, the Paris Games chief organizer said.
Speaking Friday morning on France Inter radio, Tony Estanguet said only he knew the identity of “the personality or athlete” he’s picked, in an attempt to keep the secret, and that “he or she doesn’t know.”
“I really waited until today. I plan to tell the last carrier (of the Olympic torch) today, to try to maintain this confidentiality,” he said.
Viewing areas along the Seine River ready to receive thousands of fans
Security officials received their last instructions before one of the viewing areas along the Seine River becomes packed with people for the Olympics opening ceremony.
As police boats patrolled the river, Olympic staff and volunteers placed on each seat a set of small flags of participating countries that fans could use to cheer on athletes who will later appear in a parade of boats.
Paris resident Linnett Hernandez Valdes, who was preparing her food truck for visitors, says she understands the level of security “considering the event of such magnitude.” She didn’t experience any trouble getting in despite the sabotage to the train.
“I don’t have any fear that something could happen,” she said, adding that she is very fortunate to be present at the ceremony and plans to enjoy it.
Paris Olympics moving forward with opening ceremony despite train, weather concerns
The Paris Olympics are getting off to a rough start.
In addition to suspected acts of sabotage targeting France’s flagship high-speed rail network, the French captial had a dreary feel Friday amid cloudy skies and forecast rains hours before its ambitious opening ceremony.
On a day of utmost importance for the country, with dozens of heads of state and government in town for the Olympic opening and a global audience topping 1 billion expected to tune in, authorities were scrambling to deal with widespread rail disruptions caused by what they described as coordinated overnight sabotage of high-speed train lines.
The train delays and drizzly weather underscored potential vulnerabilities of the host city’s bold decisions to break with Olympic traditions and stage an opening ceremony like no other.
▶Read more about the Paris Olympics opening ceremony
French train service picking back up
France’s Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete told TV network TF1 that train traffic is finally picking up.
Vergriete said services are resuming, especially on the Atlantique high-speed line, which had been completely halted due to the sabotage.
“At Montparnasse station and Bordeaux station, which were the most affected, we should find one in three trains running this afternoon,” he said. “Things are already improving.”
Rail workers thwarted at least one sabotage attempt
Jean-Pierre Farandou, CEO of rail company SNCF, said railway maintenance workers managed to thwart a suspected sabotage attempt along tracks on the South-East line.
Workers on the night shift spotted intruders and alerted police, Farandou said.
“These people left, of course, very quickly when they realized they were spotted. So, thank you to the railway workers,” Farandou said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it everywhere.”
Farandou said repairs were being made as police conducted forensic examinations and searched for the perpetrators. He said there was little else he could say about the investigation.
French PM says rail attacks had ‘clear objective: blocking the high-speed train network’
Outgoing French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said sabotage and arson that hit key parts of France’s rail network on the eve of the Olympics had “a clear objective: blocking the high-speed train network.”
He said the vandals strategically targeted the main routes from the north, east and west toward Paris, hours before the city hosts the Olympics opening ceremony.
Speaking to reporters Attal said there will be “massive consequences,” with “hundreds of thousands” of people stuck while trying to visit Paris for the Games or vacations.
Eurostar canceling a quarter of its trains through the weekend
Eurostar says one in four trains through the weekend will be canceled.
The rail network said all high-speed trains are being diverted, adding 90 minutes to each journey.
“Eurostar expects this situation will last until Monday morning,’’ it said in a statement.
Rail workers examining cut, burned cables along train tracks
BFM television footage showed more than a dozen workers from rail company SNCF in orange uniforms examining damage to cut and burned cables along the train tracks in Croisilles, a village in northern France where one of the sabotage incidents occurred.
A half dozen police officers, some carrying yellow evidence markers, were at the crime scene.
Cancellations, delays for trains between France and Germany
Germany’s national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, said there were short-notice cancellations and delays of trains between France and Germany as a result of the damage.
In Berlin, government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said that “the German government condemns these acts in the strongest terms.”
Some train passengers not stressing delays to Paris
Eurostar passengers leaving from London seemed relaxed about delays on the French rail network.
Kate Fisher, 37, a teacher from Louisiana, was traveling with five friends in hopes of getting to Paris to soak in the atmosphere.
“We knew this is absolutely the worst time to go to Paris because of the Olympics, so we’re prepared for it to take longer,’’ she said.
Eurostar diverts Paris-bound high-speed trains to standard lines
In Brussels, Eurostar said that all high-speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the standard line.
“This extends the journey time by around an hour and a half,” the company said.
When a train to Paris was announced, many travelers whose journey had been canceled or delayed took the option to board without a valid ticket. The train controller warned them they would have to stand at the bar for the whole journey. Once inside, the train barista handed over free bottles of water.
Paris prosecutor’s office: Rail arson crime carries up to 20-year prison sentence
The Paris prosecutor’s office has initiated an investigation, saying it had “jurisdiction over crimes involving the deterioration of property that threaten the fundamental interests of the nation.”
This crime, it added, carried a potential 15-year prison sentence and fines of 225,000 euros.
Further, it said crimes involving “degradation and attempted degradation by dangerous means in an organized group” can carry a 20-year prison sentence and fines of 150,000 euros.
German showjumpers to miss opening ceremony because of train delays
Two German athletes in showjumping were on a train to Paris to take part in the opening ceremony but had to turn back in Belgium because of lengthy delays. They will now miss the ceremony, German news agency dpa reported.
“It’s a real shame but we would have arrived too late,” rider Philipp Weishaupt, who was traveling with teammate Christian Kukuk, told dpa. “There was no longer a chance of making it on time.”
Passengers stuck without water, toilets or electricity
The Montparnasse 2 station was packed with passengers affected by delayed or canceled trains, including some who spent hours stuck on the tracks because of the disruptions.
Maiwenn Labbé-Sorin said she waited hours on the train before it returned to Paris. There was no news on when she would be able to continue her trip.
“We stayed two hours without water, without toilets, without electricity,” she said. “Then we could go out on the track for a bit and then the train returned. Now I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”
“It’s a hell of a way to start the Olympics”
Travelers at Gare du Nord train station looked up at departure boards for Eurostar trains to London showing delays of up to an hour and a half.
“It’s a hell of a way to start the Olympics,” said Sarah Moseley, 42, as she learned that her train to London was an hour late.
“They should have more information for tourists, especially if it’s a malicious attack,” said Corey Grainger, a 37-year-old Australian sales manager on his way to London, as he rested on his two suitcases in the middle of the station.
In Bordeaux in southwest France, those who couldn’t find a seat in the Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean sat on luggage and clothing on the floor and looked at their phones while others curled up and slept on benches.
French intelligence services mobilized after ‘prepared and coordinated’ attacks
“Our intelligence services and our law enforcement agencies are mobilized to find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts,” French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said in a post on X.
Attal characterized them as “acts of sabotage” which were “prepared and coordinated.”
Rail company CEO says acts showed ‘a desire to seriously harm’ the French
Jean-Pierre Farandou, CEO of rail company SNCF, said on French TV network BFMTV that the acts showed “a desire to seriously harm” the French, and their nature implied “a premeditated, calculated, coordinated attack.”
Farandou said that the locations targeted were rail track intersections.
“For one fire, two destinations were hit,” he said on BFMTV.
Train delays could continue ‘all weekend,’ French rail company says
Passengers at St. Pancras station in London were warned to expect delays of around an hour to their Eurostar journeys. Announcements in the departure hall at the international terminus informed travelers heading to Paris that there was a problem with overhead power supplies.
French rail company SNCF said it did not know when traffic would resume and feared that disruptions would continue “at least all weekend.” SNCF teams “were already on site to carry out diagnostics and begin repairs,” but the “situation should last at least all weekend while the repairs are carried out,” the operator said. SNCF advised “all passengers to postpone their journey and not to go to the station,” specifying in its press release that all tickets were exchangeable and refundable.
Valerie Pecresse, president of the regional council of the greater Paris region said “250,000 travelers will be affected today on all these lines.” Substitution plans were underway, but Pecresse advised travelers “not to go to stations.”
‘Criminal’ acts paralyze the French rail networks ahead of Olympics opening ceremony
As Paris authorities geared up for a parade along the Seine River amid tightened security, three fires were reported near the tracks on the high-speed lines of Atlantique, Nord and Est. The disruptions particularly affected Paris’ major Montparnasse station. Videos posted on social networks showed the hall of the station saturated with travelers.
The incidents paralyzed several high-speed lines linking Paris to the rest of France and to neighboring countries, according to Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete.
Speaking on BFM television, Vergriete described people fleeing from the scene of fires and the discovery of incendiary devices at the site. “Everything indicates that these are criminal fires,” he said.
Travel to and from London beneath the English Channel, to neighboring Belgium, and across the west, north, and east of France was affected by what the French national rail company SNCF called a series of coordinated overnight incidents.
Government officials denounced the acts, though they said there was no immediate sign of a direct link to the Olympics. National police said authorities were investigating the incidents. French media reported a major fire on a busy western route.
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