Jackie Chan carries torch ahead of Paralympics in Paris

Jackie Chan, veteran actor and Hong Kong legend, is back in Paris to carry the torch ahead of Paralympics in the French capital.

On Wednesday (28 August), Jackie, 70, took to the streets of Paris to serve as the torchbearer ahead of this year's Paralympics.

The official X handle of Paris Paralympics 2024 shared a picture on Wednesday in which Jackie Chan, wearing a white jersey and glasses, is seen carrying the Paralympic torch. He's surrounded by hoards of people on the streets of Paris. The caption stated, "Jackie Flamme! (fire and karate gi emojis) (camera with flash emoji) #Paris2024."

The internet was delighted to see Jackie get the honour of carrying the Paralympic torch. However, they also pointed out that he'd gotten this honour in the Paris Olympics earlier this year, too. Among the many across all walks of life who carried the Olympic torch in Paris this year was BTS singer Jin. A fan commented on Jackie's picture, "You should've led with Jackie Chan in the opening ceremony of the main Olympics (hug emoji)."

Others were happy to see Jackie back in action too. One of them wrote, "Jackie Chan (mind blown emoji) old is gold (gold medal emoji)." Another commented, "Aww miss seeing him on screen." "I hope I can have that energy at 70," said a third person. "My childhood hero (heart eyes emojis)," read a fourth comment.

Many others called him a "legend" and inserted fire emojis in the comment section.

The third instalment of the Rush Hour movies (2007), filmed in France, had a pivotal fight scene at the Eiffel Tower, with Jackie somersaulting and rolling off the iron beams of the Paris icon to evade his opponent.

"I did all my stunts, even the scene full of fighting and acrobatics on top of the Eiffel Tower," he told reporters in 2007 during the premiere. "I can tell my grandchildren, 'This is your grandfather. This is me. That's not a double flying around the Eiffel Tower in 100-mile-per-hour winds'," Jackie said.

This was not his first time carrying the Olympic flame. In 2008, he was among several other Chinese personalities – including Zhang Ziyi of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame – to carry the Olympic torch ahead of the Games in Beijing.