the mayor of Marseille attacks “grumps” who criticize Jul’s choice to light the cauldron

For some, it was an unpleasant surprise to see the rapper Jul light the Olympic cauldron on Wednesday, to mark the flame’s arrival in Marseille. The city’s mayor, Benoît Payan, instead highlighted the extraordinary celebration.

What do AS Saint-Etienne striker Irvin Cardona and rapper Jul have in common? They both lit the pot. Obviously, it is not about the famous Green’s stadium about the French singer. On Wednesday, on the occasion of the arrival of the Olympic flame in Marseille aboard the Belem, the rapper was responsible for lighting the cauldron. A surprise or even a disappointment to some of the many spectators who attended the procession, while some were rather waiting for Zinedine Zidane. The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan (PS), ironically attacked the complainants.

>> The latest information on the Olympic torch relay

An extraordinary celebration for Payan

“They are grumpy! Everything went very, very well. There are always people who have things to comment on, you must leave them alone. The Marseillais are happy, I am too, the French are happy, it has been an extraordinary, popular celebration, the values ​​of sport were highlighted, observed the elected representative of Marseille at the microphone of RMC Sport Today there were as many people as expected, that is, thousands of people as the flame passed TV viewers saw what this city was able to do, able to the best”, added the mayor, like a good parish priest.

There were around 150,000 Marseillais in the old port on Wednesday, to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic flame aboard the Belem, one of the oldest three-masted ships in Europe in a state of navigation. Swimmer Flaurent Manaudou and athlete Nantenin Keïta were the first bearers of the flame on French soil.