'I fell in front of the President, the whole of France!': Diver slips in front of Emmanuel Macron

Watch the moment an athlete endured a moment to forget at an inauguration ceremony for France's Olympic aquatics centre, leaving injuries on his back

A diver who suffered an unfortunate slip in front of French President Emmanuel Macron during an inauguration ceremony for the country's Olympic aquatics centre has spoken for the first time since the awkward moment.

President Macron visited the facility on Thursday in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris.

France's capital will play host to the 2024 Summer Olympics, with events taking place this July and August.

The French president took part in a countdown before jointly pressing a buzzer to officially open the centre.

A French flag then dropped from the highest of three diving towers, before athletes performed a series of demonstrations.

During the diving segment, Alexis Jandard slipped as he prepared to dive, falling into the pool below.

"I fell in front of the president, I fell in front of the whole of France," Jandard later said in a video on Instagram.

He even invited his followers to tease him for the mishap. "Honestly, I really deserve it."

But he also reassured viewers that "everything is fine," adding: "I didn't hurt myself. There was a little bit of blood but that is okay."

Jandard, who has twice represented France at the World Aquatics Championships, defiantly added: "That won't stop me from going to practice this afternoon."

The ceremony continued as planned, in spite of the mishap, with Mr Macron seen clapping alongside other guests at the end of the inauguration.

Speaking prior to the demonstrations, the president said: "This centre is what our ambitions are about.

"It will allow us to be ready in 120 days for the Olympics and Paralympics for Water-Polo, Diving [and] Artistic Swimming.

"We will welcome the world in this totally new location. Though with audacity, built with novelties, I would like to congratulate all those that contributed to it.

"It is innovative and corresponds to the objectives we had, it is ecologically ambitious."

The aquatics centre is the only new facility being constructed for the Olympics and will house diving, water-polo and artistic swimming competitions.

Following the conclusion of the games, it will be repurposed to better suit the needs of the local community.

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