This mysterious torchbearer, a reference to the video game Assassin’s Creed, set the rhythm of the opening ceremony

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games ceremony captivated viewers around the world thanks to a mysterious character. This masked hero, jumping from rooftop to rooftop with the cone of the flame, particularly attracted attention. On the Seine, barges parade with delegations of athletes, greeting the many spectators gathered on the banks despite the pouring rain. Meanwhile, the masked character crosses the stages and intrigues Internet users, who first see a nod to the Phantom of the Opera. Without being able to identify him, this daring mix of reality and fiction also refers to the protagonist of the video game Assassin’s Creed, a license developed by the French studio, Ubisoft.

Assassin’s Creed is a series of historical action-adventure and open-world stealth video games. In the early games, you play as a young American named Desmond Miles, who has ancestors who are part of the Assassin order, a centuries-old oriental sect. In the series, this Assassin brotherhood is in rivalry with the Templars, who have ceased to exist in more recent games.

Passage noted by Notre-Dame

This assassin character, suddenly becoming very real, continued his run from rooftop to rooftop until he entered Notre-Dame with the flame. Another major reference for knowledge of the license. Because in 2021, the dlc (additional downloadable content for a video game editor’s note) was released, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the siege of ParisThe idea of ​​this dlc was to immerse the player in a Viking battle and infiltrate the fortified city of Paris.

It is also a reference to the character of Arno Dorien in the opus Assassin’s Creed Unity which also takes place in the heart of Paris. The game takes place, this time, in revolutionary France and traces the journey of this young nobleman who joined the Brotherhood of Assassins.

This part was released in November 2014. That’s why discovering Arno’s character on the rooftops of Paris moved more than one gamer tonight. The game’s official account, on X, also reported the presence of his character at the ceremony. “Keep an eye on the rooftops of Paris. Arno might be watching you from above.”tweeted their communications teams. With, in the image, extracts from the legendary video game.

Even the Court of Cassation got in on the show. It shared on its X account a photo of the torchbearer, posted on the roofs facing its building, while torches and smoke bombs were lit by performers along its façade. A few minutes before the metal band Gojira began a concert in the same place. Offering, at the same time, unforgettable images to viewers.

The wildest rumors about the identity of the masked man

Throughout the evening, the wildest rumors ran about the identity of this character who passed from painting to painting. Among them: Stephane Bern that we will recognize in this tweet. This montage had been made by the YouTuber Cyprien, to parody the show “Secrets d’Histoire”.

Other Internet users considered the actor Omar Sy, although unlikely given the size of the torchbearer. Overall, the spectators did not lack imagination, since some hoped to discover Michel Drucker or even the rapper Adamo behind this mask.

In the end, this mysterious masked character never revealed his face… leaving free rein to the imagination of the expected 1 billion viewers.