The Paralympic Torch Relay began its tour of the first 12 host cities across the country. With just three days to go until the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, the arrival of the torch has reignited the nation's enthusiasm for the Games. 

It set off from the English port of Folkestone and plunged into the Channel Tunnel, accompanied by a guard of honour of 24 British Torchbearers. Hélène Raynsford and Gregor Ewan, who had lit the flame in Stoke Mandeville on Saturday, handed it to captain Andrew Small, a Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion and Rio 2016 bronze medallist. He was joined on this underwater leg by para-judoka Ian Rose and para-canoeist Ian Marsden. 

24 French Torchbearers awaited their British counterparts, including Laura Mills, a great-granddaughter of Sir Ludwig Guttmann, founder of the Paralympic Movement and the Paralympic Games, and Ludivine Munos, a 12-time Para swimming medallist. French relay team captain Emmanuelle Assmann, a bronze medallist in Para fencing at Athens 2004, took the torch and kissed it, symbolising the friendship between the two countries.

The relay continued its journey towards the French coast, where Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, and Marie-Amélie Le Fur, the President of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee, were on hand to witness their historic arrival. After emerging from the tunnel in Calais, the flame split into 12 torches and travelled to the furthest corners of France to bring its magic to Paris. 

In Pas-de-Calais, the department where the torch first touched French soil, the relay blazed through the streets of Calais. Other torches lit up the heart of Valenciennes in the Nord and the architectural heritage of Rouen in Seine-Maritime. In the east, the zoo at Amnéville in Moselle, the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, the European Collectivity in Alsace and the shores of Lake Geneva at Thonon-les-Bains in Haute-Savoie were also bathed. 

Finally, at the south the Paralympic Torch Relay embraced the Mediterranean coast at Antibes Juan-les-Pins in Alpes-Maritimes, the Place de la Comédie in Montpellier and the pilgrimage town of Lourdes, in Hautes-Pyrénées. In the west, the torches lit up the Place Napoléon in La-Roche-sur-Yon, Vendée, the port of Lorient in Morbihan and the shores of Saint-Malo in Ille-et-Vilaine. 

Towns and cities came alive with the Torch Festival, a celebration with many activities and taster sessions in Para sports organised by local authorities and the French Paralympic Committee. The highlight came when the crowd cheered as the last runner lit the cauldron in a jubilant atmosphere. 

A thirteenth torch was lit in the French capital, taking part in the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Liberation of Paris in Place Denfert-Rochereau, where a team relay of five torchbearers representing the five towns and cities honoured as Companions of the Liberation, joined the festivities. 

The Torch also visited the Rock en Seine festival, which combined music and sport as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Festival-goers aldo enjoyed the Flame, accompanied by DJ Barbara Butch, film-maker Marjane Satrapi and judoka Helios Latchoumanaya. 

The French Paralympic Committee organised a team relay with 24 young Para athletes through the streets of Antibes-Juan-Les-Pins, showcasing the future stars of the French Paralympic team and inspiring ambassadors for the Para sport movement. 

The relay was captained by Mathilde Troude, a decorated boccia player who is a living example of resilience and determination. She was joined by swimmer Maëlys Dréan, a seven-time world champion at the Global Games, skier Aurélie Richard, a Crystal Globe winner in the downhill, and Arthur Bellitto, the fourth fastest man ever in the 800m. The people of Antibes applauded as the captain and her team lit the Torch Festival cauldron together. 

More than 360 Paralympic Torchbearers crossed France, including iconic Para swimmers such as Béatrice Hess (26 Paralympic medals) in Strasbourg, Raphaël Dutay (multiple European champion) in Antibes Juan-les-Pins, and Charles Rozoy (a London 2012 Paralympic bronze medallist) in Saint-Malo. 

Olympic athletes also took part in the relay, with basketball player Romane Bernies, fresh from her silver medal win at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, lighting the cauldron in Montpellier. Snowboarder Paul Henri Le Rue (a bronze medallist at Turin 2006) carried the torch in Lourdes, where the FC Lourdes footballer Johana Vahe lit the cauldron at the end of the day. 

Para athletics was represented by champions Heinrich Popow (seven Paralympic titles) and Michel Munsch (four-time French champion), who lit the cauldron in Amnéville. Para table tennis stars Olivier Chateigner (Sydney 2000 Olympic champion and Athens 2004 silver medallist) and Edgar Empis lit the cauldrons in La-Roche-sur-Yon and Rouen, respectively. Para-equestrianism was also there, with Marie-Sarah Barre-Ruellan carrying the torch.   

Para sailing champion Damien Seguin received a rousing welcome in his home town of Lorient, which is committed to sporting integration. At the end of the day, Sylvain Malard, a former goalkeeper for the French national powerchair football team, lit the cauldron in Parc Jules Ferry. 

Boccia champion Dorian Decarme in Calais, marathon runner Roselyne Leleu in Valenciennes, blind footballer Lireille Loeffler in Strasbourg's SC Schiltigheim, Para skier Denis Bardet in Thonon-les-Bains, and the president of the organisation Sport Adapté de la Côte d'Emeraude in Saint-Malo also lit the fire in their relay cities.