Olympic torch arrives in France aboard historic ship

The Olympic torch for the 2024 Paris Games has arrived in Marseille, French after being carried across the Mediterranean Sea from Greece aboard a three-mast sailing ship.

The Paris organizing committee said the ship was launched in 1896, the year of the first modern Olympic Games. More than 150,000 people gathered at the port to welcome the vessel's arrival. The torch relay in France is set to start on Thursday in Marseille and will involve about 10,000 torchbearers.

The flame will pass through various iconic places including World Heritage sites Mont Saint-Michel and the Palace of Versailles before arriving at the River Seine for the 26th July opening ceremony.