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| Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, right, holds the Olympic flag next International Olympic Committee's President Thomas Bach, left, during the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Charlie Riedel |
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo brandished the Olympic flag after
disembarking from the Air France flight that brought many of France’s Olympic
medalists back to Charles de Gaulle airport.
Hidalgo, who formally received the flag Sunday during the
Tokyo closing ceremony from International Olympic Committee President Thomas
Bach, told reporters the flag “is the symbol that now, really, the Paris Games
are coming”, adding: They will be “very positive for our country”.
She said the Tokyo Games were “organised in very difficult
conditions” because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
French organisers will stay in touch with Japanese
counterparts to prepare for the Paris Games, including on security issues,
Hidalgo added.
The Olympic flag will be raised at Paris City Hall later on
Monday. A celebration will then take place at Trocadéro square, which overlooks
the Eiffel Tower, so that the public can welcome the French medalists home.