Early on Friday morning, workers took down the Olympic logo from the Eiffel Tower, restoring it to its original design, if only momentarily. As a tribute to the wildly successful Olympic Games that took place in the capital between July and August, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has pledged to construct new Olympic rings and return them to the iconic site.
The plan has divided opinion in the French capital and drawn criticism from conservation organizations and the grandchildren of Gustave Eiffel, the tower’s creator.
Hidalgo has suggested that the new rings stay on the city’s iconic symbol until the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, after first thinking they should be permanent.
Early on Friday morning, workers using several big cranes took off the 30-ton steel rings from between the tower’s first and second stories.
They will now be melted down and repurposed. They were just installed on June 7, which was less than four months ago.
According to deputy mayor of Paris Pierre Rabadan, the new rings would be less noticeable and lighter than the originals, and it is envisaged that the International Olympic Committee will cover the cost of them.
Hugo Staub, a French visitor visiting the tower on Friday, told AFP, “I think it would be better to put them somewhere else because it’s a Parisian monument and it’s .
Longtime opponent and critic of Hidalgo, Culture Minister Rachida Dati, has expressed skepticism about the notion as well, stating that the mayor’s plan would need to adhere to protocols safeguarding ancient structures.
Others expressed support for the notion of replacements and regretted losing a tangible memento of a fantastic time spent in Paris.
Standing at the base of the tower on Friday was Gabriel, a French volunteer at the Games, who commented, “They were a bit large so it’s better to put small”
Upkeep concerns
The entire nation, including Paris, plunged themselves into the spirit of the Olympics, which have been acclaimed as some of the greatest of the modern age, following months of despair and self-doubt leading up to the opening of the Games on July 26.
Since taking office in 2014, Hidalgo has also expressed a desire to keep other commemorations of the occasion, such the inventive cauldron erected in front of the Louvre and the statues of notable women lowered into the Seine during the inaugural event.
The socialist mayor of Paris has received calls from a number of environmental organizations to put upkeep of the city’s owned and run Eiffel Tower above the Olympic rings.
In February, the tower’s employees went on a five-day walkout to express their displeasure with the tower’s state of deterioration and to demand additional funding for painting and anti-rust protection.
