This year’s Olympic Games, hosted by Paris, have been haunted by controversies. From preparations starting last year to clean up the Seine for the swimming competitions sparking outrage among the French for improper allocation of funds, to almost doubled metro tickets and tourist avoidance of the City of Lights during the sporting event, and a fair share of disappointment over the opening ceremony, the Olympic season is coming to an end with the Paralympic closing ceremony on Sunday.
In the last 100 metres of the Olympics marathon, yet another controversy is emerging in Paris. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced she intends, or rather has decided, to keep the Olympic Rings on the Eiffel Tower, or at least a lighter replica since the 30-tonne current structure is too heavy to stay up on a permanent basis.
Talking to the Ouest-France regional newspaper on Saturday, Hidalgo said she had the agreement of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), so “as mayor of Paris, the decision is mine. I want the spirit of celebration to remain. So, yes, they will stay on the Eiffel Tower.”
Her decision has not been met with the enthusiasm she was probably hoping for, as a wave of backlash has followed her statement, with people arguing the rings will spoil a monument that has been a symbol of Paris and France for over a century. Moreover, commentators have also condemned Hidalgo’s approach to the matter, deciding by herself on the future image of the tower.
“Let the rings remain for a little longer than the Paralympic Games, why not? We have no problem with that. But the Eiffel Tower is not intended as an advertising platform”, Olivier Berthelot-Eiffel, great-great grandson of Gustave Eiffel, the civil engineer who designed the tower, and the president of the Association of Descendants of Gustave Eiffel (AGDE), said on Monday. “Anne Hidalgo should surely have said that she wanted to keep the Olympic rings and asked for the opinion of the Paris city council and other competent people, not that she had decided to do so.”
The hanging of the Olympic rings had exceptionally been exempted by the Olympic law, but on a temporary basis.
Rachida Dati, French Culture Minister
“The Eiffel Tower is a protected monument, the work of an immense engineer and creator. Respect for his architectural style and his work requires, before making any substantial modification, a work permit and an impact assessment, in accordance with the heritage code”, culture minister, Rachida Dati, wrote on X.
Accompanying the criticism from officials, a petition against keeping the rings has already got over 32,000 signatures online, with more than 27,000 just today. “The place of the Olympic rings during these Games was on the Eiffel Tower, but once the party time is over, our emblematic monument must return to its natural state. Even if the mayor of Paris wants the opposite”, the petition reads.
Besides arguing that “the games are a one-off event, [while] the Eiffel Tower is eternal”, signatories have condemned in the comments that “one person alone cannot decide on such an emblem”, and have even drawn a parallel with how Christmas decorations are not up all year long.
