A ship bearing the flame has docked in the southern port of Marseille. Athletes, public figures and ordinary citizens will now carry the symbol of Olympic tradition to Paris in a relay across the country.

Tuvalu raised sovereignty concerns after an earlier pact gave Australia veto power over any other security or defense agreement the tiny South Pacific island nation pursued with a third country, such as China.

Paris hosts the Olympic Games this summer, but it's in a city founded by the ancient Greeks that it all begins. The Olympic flame has arrived in the Mediterranean port of Marseille, the start of a long journey to the July 26 opening ceremony.