"It is an object and must speak and convey everything that you want to express and communicate," Lehanneur told Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet as he showed him the finished Torch for the first time.

"The Torch is superb, it looks very elegant," Estanguet said.

"There is a perfect balance between an object that is very beautiful and very aesthetic but it is also something that carries a meaning that will endure." 

The Torch is 70 centimetres tall and weighs 1.5 kilograms.

The design is identical for both Olympic and Paralympic Torches.

"The question was how to turn the values of Paris 2024 into shapes, we started with the idea of parity, this notion of perfect equality, we asked ourselves how to give shape to equality?" Lehanneur continued. 

"It became the principle of symmetry."

The colour of the Torch has been described as that of champagne.

"We wanted something that was not too golden but still warm," Lehanneur insisted.

"If you were to blend a gold, silver and bronze medal and mix them together you would get this champagne colour."

Lehanneur had been chosen for the task after an open tender for designers launched last year.

He had been shortlisted from a group of ten and then chosen to execute the final design.

"Frankly I am not a big fan of competitions, but in this type of case it was impossible for me to say no," Lehanneur admitted.

"It was a great surprise to receive a brief that was Carte Blanche, it was super open."

He had previously designed a cafe at the Louvre Museum in Paris and also created street furniture for the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) held in Paris.

"We wanted to be sure that the Flame itself would remain visible whatever the weather," he said. 

A slit has therefore been incorporated into the top of the Torch so that the Flame can be seen from all sides.

The lower portion of the Torch has been designed as a "wave relief" in polished steel to represent both the waters of the River Seine and the ocean voyages made by the Flame during the Relay.

"We wanted to play on the context and the context is Paris, so the idea is to express the idea of Paris by the water, of course the Seine River which goes through Paris and is going to be the main stage for the Opening Ceremony," Lehanneur said.

"We also wanted to express the idea of the journey of the Torch, the water is the common thread to all the elements."

The Torches are to be manufactured from recycled steel, processed by Paris 2024 partner ArcelorMittal at their factories in France.

A silversmith in Normandy working with the company is to add the special decorations.

The champagne colouring is to be provided by another craftsman using a process known as Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD), which will enable each Torch to be cleaned for re-use.

Only around 2,000 Torches are to be made and these will each be re-used approximately ten times during the course of the Relay as part of an initiative to make the event as sustainable as possible.

The Paris 2024 Torch will be introduced at the official Flame Lighting Ceremony in Olympia on April 16 2024.

Traditionally, the Flame is carried from the ancient Olympic Stadium by a Greek bearer, as yet unnamed.

The Olympic Flame is set to arrive in Marseille on May 8 2024,  carried on board the sailing ship Belem.

The Flame is also to travel across the Atlantic by tri-catamaran to visit French overseas territories and is also to stop at Tahiti, scheduled to host Olympic surfing competitions.

The Relay is planned to take 68 days to the Olympic Opening Ceremony set for July 26 2024.

Although Lehanneur and his team are also responsible for designing the cauldron in which the Flame is to burn throughout the Games, no announcement on the design or the final location of the cauldron has yet been made.