We start off with a breaking bit of news this afternoon that could spell ‘disaster’ for the opening ceremony.
The French meteorological office, Meteo-France, is predicting ‘flooding rains’ on Friday evening, just as the opening ceremony is set to commence along the River Seine. The show is still set to go on as planned.
According to L’Equpe, the office issued a yellow alert and that flooding could take place from 8pm tonight.
Grey skies have been seen over Paris today, with light intermittent drizzle falling – but temperatures are expected to stay warm throughout the evening.
Approximately 25mm of rain is expected to fall between 6pm and midnight, which could spell a washout for Emmanuel Macron’s ambitious opening ceremony.
‘It’s going to be a disaster for these few hours,’ Marliere, the head of independent weather forecaster Agate Meteo, said on RMC radio.
‘I’ve been running models for two hours, going full circle, comparing all weather models, but unfortunately, everything is confirming this trend for the start and the end of this evening. We won’t be able to avoid it.’
