With its seven routes, 500 stages, and over 10,000 kilometers across France, the Grande Randonnée towards Paris aims to embody values of “sportiness, friendliness, and respect for the environment.” Orthez, located on both the Grande Randonnée (GR®) 654 West trail and the Vézelay route on the Way of Saint James, is one of the 16 cities chosen as the starting point for this event organized by the French Hiking Federation (FFRP). Between January 13 and May 12, thousands of walkers journey towards the capital via the GR trails, in the context of the 2024 Olympic Games.
On Thursday, February 29, about a hundred people departed from the amphitheater in Orthez – labeled as a Terre de Jeux 2024 (Land of Games 2024) – for a first stage towards Sault-de-Navailles. Composed mainly of retirees, the group included members of FFRando 64 affiliated clubs, beneficiaries of the senior sports program “Live well, Live sport” from the Departmental Council 64, walkers from a sports program in the Pau area, and visually impaired individuals from the AVH association in Pau and Orthez. Among the participants were blind people and their accompanying members from the AVH association.
Mayor Emmanuel Hanon thanked the organizers for choosing Orthez to launch this great walk towards Paris, on the occasion of the Olympic Games. He also expressed gratitude towards the Departmental Council for covering the costs for the Olympic Flame to pass through the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, including Orthez, on May 20. Bernard Dupont, councilor from Artix and president of the Nelson-Paillou center (in Pau) in charge of promoting sports, praised the staff for highlighting walking as an accessible, popular, and inexpensive physical activity.
The walkers set off in small groups towards Sault-de-Navailles. Brigitte Soulary, the national president of the FFRP, emphasized that 2024 is a year declared as the National Great Sports Cause. Hiking has virtually no contraindications, is accessible to all, and is good for health. The event is not officially associated with the Paris 2024 Games, but it aligns with the same momentum.
