Paris mayor receives backlash over plan to keep Olympic rings on Eiffel Tower

Plans by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to keep the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower have been condemned by designer Gustave Eiffels descendants and provoked a backlash from some ParisiansThe giant rings were a popular addition to the monument for visitors and tourists in Paris during the July 28August 11 Olympic Games in the French capitalHidalgo announced on Saturday that she intended to take down the originals which are too heavy to remain on the monument and replace them with new ringsIt does not seem appropriate to us that the Eiffel Tower which has become the symbol of Paris and the whole of France since its construction 135 years ago has the symbol of an outside organisation added to it in a permanent way whatever its prestige a statement from the Association of Gustave Eiffels Descendants said The associations chairman Olivier BerthelotEiffel a greatgreatgrandson of Eiffel told AFP the family did not see any problem with the rings staying longer than the Paralympic Games which wrap up on September 8But the Eiffel Tower should not become an advertising outpost Anne Hidalgo should have said that she wanted to keep the Olympic rings not that she had decided it and then discussed the idea with the Paris council and relevant individuals he explainedCulture Minister Rachida Dati a longtime critic and opponent of Hidalgo also cast doubt over the idea saying the Socialist city leader would need to follow procedures protecting historic buildingsThe Eiffel Tower is a protected monument the work of an immense engineer and designer Dati said in a statementProtections for its architectural merit and his work require authorisations and an impact study before any major modifications can be carried out in line with the law on protected buildings she addedA mistakeReaction on social media was mixed but many Parisians appeared highly dubious about modifying the symbol of the city that is also a protected UNESCO world heritage siteThe Eiffel Tower has a history of 135 years and surpasses a sports and media event of 17 days commented the SOS Paris group which campaigns to protect Pariss landmarks and historic characterFor me this is a mistake Paris MP Sylvain Maillard from President Emmanuel Macrons centrist party told France Bleu Paris radioThe Games were a very powerful moment but the Eiffel Tower embodies something timelessHidalgo told the OuestFrance newspaper on Saturday that she wanted to keep the rings and the decision is up to me and I have the agreement of the IOC International Olympic CommitteeAlso Read Olympic rings to stay at Eiffel Tower after Paris Paralympics 2024 Paris mayorThe Eiffel Tower was unveiled in 1889 for the World Fair in the French capital Reviled by some Parisians at the time the 324metre 1063foot tower of latticed steel girders was originally built as a temporary attraction to showcase French construction prowess but became a working telecoms tower used for radio and TV transmissions The Iron Lady has since become the capitals symbol and is one of the worlds top tourist attractions with 63 million visitors in 2023This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever