The Olympic flame will arrive in the French port of Marseille on Wednesday, having set sail from Greece last month. Crowds of well-wishers, as well as Emmanuel Macron, the Frecnch president, are expected to greet it. The flame will then travel through more than 450 towns and cities across the country, ahead of the Olympic games which begin in Paris on July 26th.

France has not hosted the summer Olympics since 1924. It sees the games as a showcase for the country, and a way of building a legacy. Many sporting events will take place in Seine-Saint-Denis, one of Paris's neglected northern suburbs, which are being better connected with vast infrastructure projects. A new high-speed underground extension to the transit system was opened on May 6th. There is an equally ambitious plan to hold the opening ceremony along the river Seine, with athletes aboard boats. Worries about potential terrorist attacks, though, have prompted organisers to prepare back-up plans just in case.