Turmoil over the Eiffel Tower

Dispute in Paris: what happens to the Olympic rings?

The Eiffel Tower was decorated with Olympic rings.

(Bild: AFP/APA/Loic VENANCE)

Thousands of tourists have photographed the Eiffel Tower decorated with giant Olympic rings over the past three months, and Parisians have also admired the Olympic symbol on the city's landmark. But now that the Summer Games are over, a dispute has broken out in Paris over whether the rings, which weigh several tons, should remain on the Eiffel Tower permanently, as Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants.

There are several signature campaigns, the descendants of Gustave Eiffel are getting involved and the mayor has a political rival in the form of the Minister of Culture. The enthusiasm for the Olympics had Paris and the whole of France in its grip during the Games in the heart of the capital when Mayor Hidalgo came up with the plan to leave the rings permanently on the tower as Olympic heritage. "As Mayor of Paris, the decision is mine and I have the approval of the International Olympic Committee. So yes, they will stay on the Eiffel Tower," the mayor announced a month later, at the end of August.

Not a permanent solution
However, the five intertwined rings, which measure a total of 29 meters wide and 15 meters high and are currently mounted on the tower between the first and second floors, would have to be replaced with a replica as they are "too heavy to withstand permanently, especially in winter winds," said Hidalgo. She explained that "we will have others made that are the same size but lighter and will be installed in the same place on the Eiffel Tower". This change will be made "as soon as possible" and the manufacturer, ArcelorMittal, is already working on it.

(Bild: AFP/APA/EMMANUEL DUNAND)

However, the fact that the Eiffel Tower is to change its appearance permanently after 135 years does not suit everyone. "The place of the Olympic rings during these games was at the Eiffel Tower, but as soon as the time of celebration is over, our symbolic monument must return to its natural state," reads an online petition that has now been signed by over 41,000 people.

"Aesthetics distorted"
Another petition complains that "the permanent installation of the Olympic rings would distort the aesthetics of this historic monument and change its unmistakable silhouette". The rings would also add weight to the Eiffel Tower's rust-eaten structure. "The priority of the city of Paris should be to preserve and restore the tower, not to damage it."

Rachida Dati

(Bild: EPA)

Meanwhile, Culture Minister Rachida Dati points out that any change to the Eiffel Tower as a protected monument requires authorization and an impact assessment. "The hanging of the Olympic rings was exceptionally exempted by the Olympic law, but only temporarily."

"Not appropriate"
Like millions of people, they were delighted that the Eiffel Tower carried the Olympic rings during the Olympic Games, explained the Association of Descendants of Tower Builder Gustave Eiffel. However, it is "not appropriate for the Eiffel Tower, which has become the symbol of Paris and, by extension, of France itself in the world since its construction 135 years ago, to be permanently given the symbol of an external organization, no matter how prestigious it is".

The Olympic Games change countries every four years and there is no reason why the Eiffel Tower should continue to wear the rings after the Games in Paris. Instead, the tower's façade should continue to be used temporarily to highlight major causes, as it has regularly done in the past, the Eiffel descendants explained, for example in the colors of Europe during the French EU Council Presidency.

At the Eiffel Tower until 2028?
In view of the controversy surrounding the rings remaining on the Eiffel Tower, the mayor has now rowed back a little. The rings should remain on the tower until the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, "and maybe after that", Hidalgo has now said.

(Bild: REUTERS/AFP or licensors)

In addition to the Olympic rings, the mayor also wants to keep the fire bowl for the Olympic flame, which rose into the air from the Tuileries carried by a balloon, as Olympic heritage in Paris. Whether this will be possible has not yet been decided.