After crossing eastern and northern France, the Olympic Torch headed west to the Seine-Maritime region, whose picturesque landscapes inspired the Impressionists. It is a charming region that has inspired so many artists, with its landscapes, 130 kilometres of coastline and many seaside resorts. The Seine-Maritime also boasts villages, towns and cities with characteristic architecture, from dovecotes and cottages to cathedrals and castles. 

This area also has a strong sporting reputation, with more than 1,500 sports clubs, including football, rugby and rowing, which owes its popularity to the closeness of the United Kingdom. The Seine-Maritime also hosts international competitions such as the Tour de France, the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and the Transat Jacques Vabre every two years, with the next edition in 2025. 

The Torch Relay put the spotlight on this natural and cultural heritage. The route began in Rouen, where it passed in front of the cathedral, the biggest in France, before passing through the city centre and under the Gros-Horloge clock. 

It passed near Jumièges Abbey, Dieppe and its shingle beaches, and the Château de Mirville mansion, Pierre de Coubertin's childhood home. After a visit to Yvetot and its pink stone church, it made its way to Étretat and its famous cliffs, to the top of the Porte d'Aval arch. Then it was on to Le Havre, a city rebuilt after the Second World War and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The Torch Relay passed by the Narrow House, the Porte Océane district, the MuMa Museum of Modern Art and the Volcan, the centre of Le Havre's cultural life. Finally, it was welcomed by thousands of people at the Esplanade Nelson Mandela, where the celebration venue was installed. 

The Team Relay took place in the streets of Le Havre, from the Quai Georges V, organised by the French Badminton Federation, which has many players in the area. The sport became popular in the area after the war and several French championships were held here in the 1950s and 1960s. The captain was Christelle Mol, the first French woman to play badminton at the Barcelona Games in 1992, when the sport gained Olympic status. 

She was accompanied by 23 badminton players, such as Sandrine Becquart and Stéphane Renault, who have taken part in international competitions, the coach Maxime Renault, Wilfried Inger, a French champion in adapted sports, and Delphine Demarest, a volunteer who works to develop the discipline of adapted sports.   

125 individual torchbearers took turns to carry the Torch, including judoka David Douillet, who won gold medals in Atlanta in 1996 and in Sydney in 2000, figure skater Sarah Abitbol, who competed in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, basketball player Sandrine Gruda, who won a silver medal in London in 2012, and swimmer Hugues Duboscq, who won medals in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.

Alexis Hanquinquant, the six-time world Para-triathlon world champion and gold medallist at the Tokyo Games, and Gaël Rivière, a silver medallist in blind football at the London Paralympic Games were also present. Léonie Cambours, a two-time world Para-triathlon champion, carried the Torch in Yvetot. She trains with the Seine-Mariteam 76 team and is one of local athletes who excel in all disciplines, such as pole vaulter Elise Russis, silver medallist at the U20 World Championships, Marina Pantic, a handball player with the HAC, or former archery world champion Nadine Mayeux. 

They rubbed shoulders with Kévin Campion, the six-time French champion in race walking, boxer Alfousseynou Kamara, also a French champion, Gilles Quénéhervé, a former 200-metre runner and yachtsman Charlie Dalin, born in Le Havre. He came second in the last Vendée Globe and has one of the most impressive rolls of honour in ocean racing, having won the Transat Jacques Vabre and the New York - Vendée / Les Sables d'Olonne races. 

Local celebrities were also present, such as influencer Camille Stengel and dancer Fauve Hautot, best known from the French TV show Danse avec les stars (the Gallic version of Strictly Come Dancing). The Olympic Torch Relay also put the spotlight on the association Sine Qua None through its president, Mathilde Castres. This project, supported by Impact 2024, aims to promote access to sport for young girls. 

The evening was symbolic for the last two Torchbearers. The penultimate was Mike de Almeida, a member of the Entourage association, which works to rebuild social ties. He shared the last kiss of the day with Margaux Bailleul, a young woman from Le Havre who is a member of a local rowing club. A member of the French team since the age of 16, she has won several French championship titles and lit the cauldron in front of an enthusiastic crowd.