Paris 2024 Olympics: We know who was hiding behind the masked rider who bewitched the Seine

This Saturday, July 27, Le Parisien reveals the name of the masked rider who participated in the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games the day before, crossing the stage on a mechanical horse.

The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games was a real eye-opener, both for the French, proud of their country and the artistic transcription of its history and culture, and for tourists from all over the world, who were able to discover the know-how of France. During the evening, which took place this Friday, July 26, one image seemed to come straight out of a futuristic film. It was the painting, from the Seine, of a metal (and mechanical) horse that crossed the river with a matching rider on its back.

Wearing armor made by French designer Jeanne Friot and craftsman Robert Mercier, as reported by our colleagues at Le Parisien, the young woman wore the famous Olympic Games flag on her outfit. The sequence during which she was seen crossing the Seine (from the Pont d’Iéna to the Place du Trocadéro) lasted about ten minutes, but it was enough to leave its mark with its poetry. And now we know the identity of this rider unlike any other, whose face was largely masked to preserve the mystery. It is in fact a certain Floriane Issert, a non-commissioned officer in the national gendarmerie, whose mission was to deliver the Olympic flag so that it could be hung in front of the Eiffel Tower.