They still do not agree. In a press release, the Association of Descendants of Gustave Eiffel (Adge) reaffirms its “unfavorable position” on the “definitive perpetuation of the rings (…) beyond the Olympic year 2024, without any clear date of detachment announced.”
On Friday, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo reiterated her wish to see the rings fixed to the famous tower, which belongs to the city, remain on the historic monument until the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, “and even beyond.” This position, already expressed shortly after the opening of the Games and reaffirmed a week ago, has sparked an outcry among heritage defenders and opponents of the socialist elected official.
“A breach of respect for the work”
“We are very happy that the rings have been associated with the Eiffel Tower for the duration of the Olympic Games,” explained the descendants of the famous engineer on Sunday, while reaffirming their opposition to this project. “As heirs of Gustave Eiffel, the members of the Adge (…) may be led to oppose any alteration that undermines respect for the work of their ancestor,” they assure, explaining that they have consulted a law firm.
However, according to them, “the hanging of the Olympic rings (…) induces a substantial modification to both the visual and symbolic aspect of the Eiffel Tower.” “Colorful, of a large size, placed in the privileged access axis to the tower, creating a strong imbalance, the rings substantially modify the very pure forms of the monument,” they estimate.
The presence of the rings on the tower beyond the duration of the Games also contradicts, according to them, “the neutrality and the meaning acquired over the years by the Eiffel Tower, which has become the symbol of the city of Paris and even of the whole of France throughout the world”, they argue, adding that there is “no prior thematic or historical link between the tower and the Games”.
Saying that they were at the mayor's disposal for discussion, they proposed in turn that the City of Paris, “after having transmitted the Olympic flame to the city of Los Angeles (…), could symbolically transmit the Olympic rings to Los Angeles, by the end of 2024, which marks the end of the Olympic year.”
“Don't fall back into stupid polemics”
Invited on RTL this Monday morning, the Parisian mayor is adamant: “This discussion and these symbols must be allowed to live on.” Despite the reluctance of the descendants of the creator of the Iron Lady, the mayor still believes today that the Olympic rings will remain on the Eiffel Tower until the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
“I think that these symbols must remain. We must not fall back into the quintessentially French ways. We can have a calm discussion on what positive effects, what profound changes and how we continue to keep this Olympic and Paralympic spirit alive. The athletes and para-athletes have achieved incredible performances, we can perhaps achieve the feat of not falling back into stupid controversies,” pointed out the elected official.
As for the choice of the date of 2028, the mayor explains it “because these are Games that we obtained alongside Los Angeles, it is an Olympiad that we share. And then afterwards, we will see”, she concludes.
Concerning the Agitos of the Arc de Triomphe, if Anne Hidalgo intends to keep them as well, they will not remain on the monument that has carried them in recent months. “The Arc de Triomphe is a war memorial that does not depend on the city of Paris. I understand that they must be in a more appropriate place like on the Champs Elysées-Clémenceau side,” she finally considers.
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