There is a disagreement over whether Olympic rings should remain on the Eiffel Tower.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has sparked a heated debate by stating that she wants to preserve the Olympic rings atop the Eiffel Tower after summertime games are ended. "The choice is up to me, and I have the IOC's [International Olympic Committee] approval," she told Ouest-France newspaper over this past weekend. "So certainly they [the rings] will stay on the Eiffel Tower," she told me.
Some Parisians supported the decision, but others, notably preservation groups, opposed it, claiming it would "defile" the French capital's renowned monument.
According to Anne Hidalgo, "the French are currently in love with Paris again" The five rings, 29m (95ft) wide, 15m high, and weighing 30 tonnes, were erected atop the Eiffel Tower before the Paris Olympics began on July 26 and were scheduled to be removed after the Paralympics' closing ceremony on September 8.
However, Ms Hidalgo stated that she intended to maintain the interlaced rings of blue, yellow, black, green, and red, which represent all five continents. She also stated that the present moment rings, every measuring 9m in diameter, were excess weight and would be swapped for a lighter version at some point.
The Socialist mayor also stated that "the French are currently in adore with Paris again" during the Games and that she wants "this joyful spirit to remain". Some Parisians and visitors to the French city supported the mayor. "The Eiffel Tower is stunning; the rings provide colour. "It's very nice to see it like this," a young woman named Solène told the France Bleu website. However, Manon, a local neighbor, stated that this was "a truly awful decision".
"It is a historical monument; why spoil it with rings? It was excellent for the Olympics, but now that they're over, we can move on; perhaps we may eliminate them and restore the Eiffel Tower to its original state," he told France Bleu. Christophe Robin, a frequent user of social media, said Ms Hidalgo should have contacted Parisians before implementing her proposal. In a post on X, he reminded that the Eiffel Tower displayed a Citroën advert from 1925 until 1936. The Eiffel Tower was constructed in 1889 for the World's Fair. The wrought-iron lattice tower was initially highly attacked by Parisian artists and scholars, but it is now widely regarded as an icon of the "City of Light".
Ms Hidalgo, who has led Paris since 2014, is known for her ambitious, sometimes contentious, changes. During her reign, several city streets, notably the banks of the Seine, were pedestrianized. Last year, she easily won a city referendum to ban rental electric scooters. However, less than 8% of those eligible voted. Ms Hidalgo won again in February, when Parisians approved a significant increase in parking costs for sports utility cars.
However, both driving groups and opposition leaders criticized the program, claiming that the SUV designation was misleading because it could impact many family-sized vehicles. At the time, France's Environment Minister, Christophe Béchu, described the fee as "punitive environmentalism". Ms Hidalgo and other authorities went into the Seine immediately before the Paris Olympics to ensure it was suitable for swimmers there.
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