The highlight was the Para-Triathlon Team Relay and the 113 Torchbearers who took turns to carry the torch, from the first, Sébastien Loeb, to the last, biathlete Anaïs Bescond, who lit the cauldron in Besançon. After an emotional Olympic Day on Sunday in Haute-Savoie and a day of rest, the Torch resumed its journey in the Doubs, in the heart of the Jura mountains. 

From its pine forests to its caves and plateaus, the Doubs is an important destination for nature lovers, but it has much more to offer: industrial fabric, 100 km of border with Switzerland and watchmaking know-how, handed down from generation to generation, are a source of pride for the locals. 

The Olympic Torch set off from the Parc du Grand Cours in Pontarlier, known as the capital of absinthe, with some 20 distilleries in the town. It then headed made its way to the ski jumping stadium in Chaux-Neuve, passing through Maîche, the cradle of the Comtois horse, and visited the Gouffre de Poudrey in Étalans, the largest mine cave in Europe. 

Then it was on to Montbéliard, famous for its kaleidoscopic facades and its romantic castle, advancing to the charming town centre of Baume-les-Dames. From there, it was on to the end of the stage, Besançon, a city with a lot to offer, from Vauban's fortifications, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to its role as the French Capital of Biodiversity in 2019. 

The Olympic flame passed by the Léo Lagrange stadium, the house of Victor Hugo, the Museum of Time and the banks of the river. The ceremony took place in the Parc de la Gare d'Eau, a vast green space that was once a freight port and marina. It was opened by Sébastien Loeb, the most successful French racing driver of all time with nine world rally titles. He handed over the Torch from Alsace to Bernard Perrin, a key figure in the local sporting scene and former president of the Jura Handball Committee. 

Local heroes also turned up for the occasion, including cyclist Thibaut Pinot, a favourite of French fans who ended his long and storied career last season. He was joined by 400m hurdles specialist Aurélie Chaboudez, biathlete and five-time Olympic medallist Quentin Fillon Maillet and 100m hurdles ace Awa Sene, who is vying for a place at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

The Torch was also carried by representatives of the Olympic movement, including Éric Monnin, a former world-class judoka who is also Vice-President in charge of Olympism at the University of Franche-Comté and the founder of the first University Olympic Studies and Research Centre. Jean-Pierre Mougin, former secretary general and vice-president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), and Nicolas Doyen, Terre de Jeux 2024 contact in Haguenau, were also present. 

Sports journalists who do their best to spread the passion for Olympism were also present, including Alexandre Pasteur, a cycling and athletics commentator for France Télévisions, and Aurélie Bresson, who founded Les Sportives. She also chairs the Alice Milliat Foundation, which fights for gender equality in sport. 

Women's sport was in the spotlight, epitomised by the last runner of the day, Anaïs Bescond. She won three medals at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, (bronze in the pursuit and in the women's relay, and claimed gold in the mixed relay together with Marie Dorin-Habert, Martin Fourcade and Simon Desthieux. She lit the cauldron at the end of the day's festivities. 

The French Triathlon Federation, whose previous team relay had already lit up the Drôme, came back to celebrate Para-triathlon, a discipline that marks its eighth year as a Paralympic sport, having made its debut at Rio 2016. For this team relay, the federation worked with a local club that is committed to inclusivity in this "Terre de Jeux" department. 

The club has a three-star triathlon school and organises events such as a stage of the Para-Triathlon World Cup. 24 enthusiasts took part in this relay, including the visually impaired para-triathlete Lilou Bonnot, the president of Montbéliard Triathlon, Marina Bel, and Emmanuelle Legain, who competes for Besançon Triathlon. Sylvain Soyard, one of the organisers of the last Para-Triathlon, was the captain.