The route, designed in partnership with the City of Paris and the Police Prefecture, lit up every district of the French capital. Nearly 200 Torchbearers carried the torches to the rhythm of the many shows and activities organised by the City of Paris. A Team Relay of 24 Paralympians, supported by the French Paralympic and Sports Committee, lit up the forecourt of the Paris City Hall, according to Paris 2024.

This symbolic segment preceded the lighting of the last cauldron of the Paralympic Torch Relay, with the opening ceremony just a few hours away. Join us for a recap of this emotion-packed day, which brought down the curtain on an extraordinary adventure that saw 1,200 Torchbearers bring the light of the Paralympic flame to more than 50 towns and cities across metropolitan France. 

The first of the 12 Torches was lit in front of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee, and then it made its way to the National Institute for Sport, Expertise and Performance and the Esplanade Saint-Louis. At Place de la Nation, rapper Georgio removed the Torch from its case and it passed Place de la Nation, Place de la République and Place de la Bastille on its way to City Hall, where the final cauldron was lit.

In the north of Paris, the torch lit the heart of the Goutte d'Or neighbourhood (17th arrondissement), Canal Saint-Martin and La Grange-aux-Belles (10th arrondissement), a hotspot of Parisian hip-hop in the 1980s. Further east, the Torch passed the legendary La Cipale velodrome (12th arrondissement) and the Père Lachaise Cemetery (20th arrondissement). 

It had brushes with history in the 12th and 13th arrondissements, lighting up the Passerelle Simone-de-Beauvoir, the esplanade of the Bibliothèque François Mitterrand and the Arenas of Lutetia. After touching the grass of the Parc Montsouris (14th arrondissement), it paid tribute to the ancient skills of textile workers at the Manufacture des Gobelins (13th arrondissement). 

Other Torches explored the south-west of the city, with highlights including the Piazza de l'Unesco and the Oly House, which will serve as a meeting place for the Olympic family during the Paris 2024 Games. A short time later, one of the torches was lit in front of Napoleon's tomb at the Hôtel des Invalides and made its way to the Esplanade, where the Para-archery events will begin this Thursday. 

The Parc Georges Brassens and the City Hall of the 15th arrondissement were also in the spotlight, as was the Cité Périchaux. The excitement reached a fever pitch as the Torch passed through Club France, the heart of the French national team, which will remain active during the Paralympics, and remained at stratospheric levels in Pigalle, accompanied by the Cabaret, as revisited by the Mixity troupe. 

Further west, the Paralympic Torch lit up the Parc Monceau and Parc Clichy Batignolles Martin Luther-King, as well as the banks of the lower lake of the Bois de Boulogne, where the Touring Club held a grand equestrian parade. In the heart of the capital, Saint-Sulpitius Church and Place du Châtelet were also in a festive mood, with challenges and Paralympic awareness initiatives. 

The Torch entered the home straight on the forecourt of the Paris City Hall. A guard of honour of 24 Paralympic medallists escorted it along the esplanade in front of the City Hall. The captain was Ludivine Munos, a retired 12-time Para swimming medallist. 

She was joined by Para-table tennis ace Vincent Boury, Para-swimmers Alain Pichon and Rachel Ladrière, Para-athlete Stéphane Bozzolo, Para-judoka Angélique Quessandier and wheelchair tennis legend Florence-Alix Gravelier. A further 18 Paralympic athletes, representing the full range of Paralympic sports, also took part 

A dozen Torchbearer, representing the 12 Torches converging on Paris, walked the final metres, including Cyréna Samba-Mayela, 100m hurdles silver medallist at Paris 2024, and five-time Paralympian Ryadh Sallem, a member of the French wheelchair rugby team. They were joined by Anne Élisabeth d'Acremont, a member of the French national wheelchair basketball team, and Para-swimmer Mélissa Lambert. 

They were joined by Pascale Gallaccio, who has chaired the Paris Departmental Committee for Adapted Sports for 26 years, Vincent Lassale, who has been a volunteer in the Paralympic movement for over three decades, and Latifa Adoudi, the president of a charity that supports the parents of children with disabilities. They came together in an emotional moment to light the Paris 2024 cauldron for the last time. 

The Torchbearers were lighting up the French capital throughout the day. The public got a glimpse of athletes who have made Paralympic history, including Para-athletes Clavel Kayitare, Miki Matheson and Marianna Davis, Para-swimmers Chelsey Gotell, Duane Kale and John Petersson, as well as and Yannick Ifebe, team gold medallist in wheelchair fencing in Rio. 

The Para-surfer Suzanne Edward, the swimmer Marie Grafetiaux and the pentathlete Valentin Belaud were also present, as was the French cycling legend Raymond Pellé. Other personalities involved in the Paralympic movement also responded to the call, including the president of the French Disabled Sports Federation, Guislaine Westelynck, and the founder of Solidarité Sida, Luc Barruet. 

Other famous names included international actor Jackie Chan, dancer Benjamin Millepied, French actress Elsa Zylberstein and comedian Jarry. There were also Thibaut Simon, who designed an exoskeleton for quadriplegics and paraplegics, Kevin Scheifle, who works hard to improve facilities for Para-athletes, and Mathias Da Silva, a boccia player who carried the French flag at the 2023 European Youth Games.