Before an enthusiastic crowd on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the grand boulevard of the French capital, the Olympic torch arrived in Paris on Sunday in a luxury Louis Vuitton suitcase, 12 days before the opening of the Games.
The custom-made suitcase stood for some time on a pedestal in the middle of the Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, a major intersection, looking a little lonely. It was then opened and the torch handed to Thierry Henry, one of the greats of French soccer, who was dressed for the occasion in chic white sweats.
As cheers rose from the crowd, Mr. Henry set off at a slow jog, bearing the now-lit torch toward the nearby Place de la Concorde. It is closed, like much of Paris, to accommodate Olympic events, including break dancing, or breaking, which is set to make its first appearance at the Games.
Since the flame arrived in France more than two months ago, welcomed in the ancient port city of Marseille by plumes of red, white and blue smoke — the colors of the French flag — it has been on a far-flung journey, including to Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion and other overseas French departments.
The flame will be in Paris for two days, crisscrossing the city in the hands of 540 torchbearers to the Sorbonne, the Panthéon, the Louvre, the Place Vendôme, the Hôtel de Ville and other Paris landmarks. Concerts, dances and other cultural events will accompany its passage.
Paris is the epicenter of the Games, which open on July 26, and it has already transformed itself into an Olympic city, with most bridges in the center closed to traffic, temporary metal bleachers set up on several of them and sidewalks along or near the Seine fenced off.
The capital is also the headquarters of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury goods empire, which provided some $163 million last year to fund the Paris Olympics. As a premium sponsor, LVMH companies will play a major role, with Chaumet, a Paris jeweler whose clients once included Napoleon’s wife Joséphine, designing the Olympic medals and with Moët Hennessy wines offered in hospitality suites.
Hence also that Louis Vuitton suitcase for the torch, which has been used throughout a journey that will last 79 days in total. The torch is to leave Paris on Tuesday and return for the opening ceremony.
Its pedestal on Sunday stood not far from the outsize monogrammed Louis Vuitton trunk higher up the Champs-Élysées that forms the unusual scaffolding for a giant LVMH development that will include a hotel.
The imprint on Paris of Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of the company and one of the richest men in the world, keeps growing as he pushes his mega-brands into the realms of sport and culture — a drive that is not without its critics. Mr. Arnault is close to President Emmanuel Macron, who seated him opposite President Biden at a recent state dinner.
The idea of the flame’s long relay was to bring all of France and the Francophone world together in a joyous celebration of the first Olympic Games held in Paris for a century. Instead, France has endured a season of bitter division since the flame’s rapturous Marseille welcome, and the country finds itself in a chaotic political impasse.
Mr. Macron chose to dissolve the National Assembly last month and call legislative elections. One week after the vote produced a parliament divided among left-wing, centrist and right-wing blocs, none with an absolute majority, no agreement on a governing coalition has been reached.
France finds itself in limbo, with a caretaker government, a situation that may now last through the Games.
Sponsors, including LVMH, have been unhappy with how the political mess has eclipsed the Olympics for now, relegating the event to a secondary subject. In general, Mr. Macron’s decision, on the eve of the Games, was met with widespread incomprehension.
The torch was carried on Sunday past the vacant National Assembly — the new parliament has not convened yet — by Jean Turco, who at the age of 106 is the oldest former lawmaker in France.
“It’s not a great atmosphere, it’s not an easy context, which is a shame,” said Alexandra Baujard, a marketing manager, as she watched dancers covered in blue, white and red paint performing in the main courtyard of the Palais Bourbon, home to the National Assembly. “We’ve had better times.”
The city was relatively empty on Sunday, Bastille Day, the most important French national holiday, which commemorates the Revolution of 1789 and the overthrow of the monarchy. Many people had left town on vacation or were away for the weekend.
Some Parisians are convinced it’s best to flee, given the way the Olympics will complicate life; others are excited at the prospect of an event whose imminence was brought home Sunday.
“I’m staying in Paris especially for this,” said Raphaëlle Grifone, a university lecturer. “The Olympics beautify the city and bring a feeling of joy.”
Concerns about security at the opening ceremony — during which a flotilla of barges on the Seine will carry about 10,000 athletes to the foot of the Eiffel Tower, as more than 300,000 spectators line the four-mile route — have run high.
Those worries will only have been increased by the assassination attempt Saturday on former President Donald J. Trump.
“This is a drama for our democracies,” Mr. Macron said of the shooting. “France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”
More than $1 billion has been spent on cleaning the Seine in the buildup to the Games, and there is no indication of the government’s contemplating any Plan B for the opening.
“There are always doubts, there is always a France that doubts, and some among us here only want to see problems,” Mr. Macron said in Marseille on May 8, urging people to embrace the spirit of the Games.
The political upheaval he instigated has not helped foster that spirit, but the presence of the torch brought cheers from many people on Sunday who are hoping for a great celebration in the giant stadium that Paris has already become.
Ségolène Le Stradic contributed reporting.
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