Eiffel family fiercely opposes Olympic rings plan

The Summer Olympics are coming up in 2028, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants to hold on to the last vestiges of the Olympic presence until then. CBS News reports that she has announced her intentions to keep the multicolored Olympic rings where they currently hang on the Eiffel Tower, a move that has been fiercely opposed by Gustave Eiffel’s descendants. While the family’s association AGDE says it is happy for the rings to remain on the monument until the end of 2024, “which marks the end of the Olympic year,” AGDE has spoken with lawyers about how to prevent the rings from remaining there longer.

The BBC reports that Hidalgo was unequivocal in announcing the planned move in an interview in late August, saying: “The decision is mine, and I have the agreement of the IOC (International Olympic Committee). So yes, they (the rings) will stay on the Eiffel Tower.” According to her, “the French have fallen in love with Paris again” thanks to the Games, and she wants “this festive spirit to continue.” Hidalgo added that the 95-foot-wide rings, which weigh 33 tons, would be swapped for a lighter version.

Olivier Berthelot-Eiffel, a great-great-grandson of Gustave Eiffel, told Politico that this is the first time the family has publicly opposed a tower-related plan. The family said the rings create “a strong imbalance” in the shape of the tower, “and significantly alter the very pure forms of the monument,” which is owned by the city of Paris. Their presence also “undermines the neutrality and meaning that the Eiffel Tower has acquired over the years,” they said. “We do not believe it is appropriate for the Eiffel Tower … to be permanently associated with an external organization, regardless of its prestige,” they added, per CNN.

The descendants aren’t the only critics of the plan. Julien Lacaze, the head of France’s oldest heritage defense association, lashed out at Hidalgo, telling Politico: “Contrary to what she says, she’s not the only one who decides.” He painted the decision as self-serving and suggested that Hidalgo is trying to “take advantage of the fame (of the tower) … to say these are my Games.” (More Eiffel Tower stories.)