Just 12 days before the Games started, the Olympic torch arrived in Paris carried in a luxurious Louis Vuitton luggage on Sunday. Before being passed to French soccer great Thierry Henry, who jogged with the torch at Place de la Concorde, it was on show at the Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées.

Henry, wearing chic white sweats, lit the fire among applauds. Along with concerts and cultural events, the torch will tour Paris for two days passing sites including the Louvre and the Sorbonne.

Two months ago, the flame arrived in Marseille and has since flown across other French territories, including foreign departments. Now an Olympic city, Paris has gated sidewalks close to the Seine, makeshift bleachers and shuttered bridges. Major Olympic sponsor LVMH gave the event $163 million; Louis Vuitton designed the travel case for the torch.

Still, France's political environment is charged. Dissolving the National Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron left the chamber split and devoid of a majority coalition. This has eclipsed the Olympic buzz because sponsors voice worries.

Jean Turco, the oldest former legislator from France at 106, carried the torch past the empty National Assembly. For Bastille Day, many Parisians were away, so the city was rather calm. While some people, like university instructor Raphaëlle Grifone, look forward to the celebrations, others intend to escape the Olympic pandemonium.

Following an attempt at assassination on former President Donald Trump, security issues for the opening ceremony—which include a flotilla on the Seine—have grown more pressing. The appearance of the torch gave those expecting a happy celebration in Paris optimism and applause notwithstanding political and security concerns.