Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced that the Olympic rings will remain on the Eiffel Tower until at least 2028. The rings were installed ahead of the Paris Olympics and became a popular tourist attraction. However, the mayor’s decision to keep them as is has been opposed by lawmakers, residents and conservation groups, who argue that the International Olympic Committee’s symbol does not belong on a protected historic site such as the Eiffel Tower. Her opponents accuse her of political opportunism ahead of the 2026 mayoral election.
“What I propose for the rings… is that we will leave the rings on the Eiffel Tower until 2028, the Olympic Games in Los Angeles,” he said at a press conference.
The Eiffel Tower was the central backdrop for several Olympic events, including the opening ceremony and beach volleyball. However the temporary structures built for the games must be demolished, and the city hopes to restore it to its original state.
Mayor Hidalgo claimed she wanted to maintain the “celebratory spirit” of the successful Games, but her opponents see it as an attempt to put her own mark on the iconic monument. David Alphand, a right-wing city councillor and ally of Ms Hidalgo’s opponent Rachida Dati, accused the mayor of trying to “reclaim the positive results” of the Olympics for her own political gain.
Ms. Hidalgo’s camp has dismissed the criticism as typical Parisian resistance to change, citing early opposition to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre’s pyramids. However, descendants of Gustave Eiffel (who designed the Eiffel Tower), including Olivier Berthelot-Eiffel, argue that the rings disrupt the tower’s design and disrespect their ancestor’s work.
“These rings completely break the design of the monument … it does not respect the work of our ancestors,” Mr. Berthelot-Eiffel, president of an association of Eiffel descendants, told Politico.
While decorating the tower is not unprecedented, this is the first time the Eiffel family has publicly opposed plans for the monument. Meanwhile, the mayor claimed the decision was his to make, as the tower is owned by the city of Paris. But opponents such as Rachida Dati and heritage groups argue that modifications require careful consideration and approval.
“The Eiffel Tower is a protected monument which can only be altered under certain conditions and after an impact assessment,” Ms Dati said.
Julien Lacaze, president of France’s oldest heritage protection association, Sites & Monuments, criticized Ms. Hidalgo’s proposal, saying it was a form of self-promotion in which she clung to the Eiffel Tower like a “parasite” to “take advantage of its fame… to say these are my games.”
The current 30-ton steel rings will have to be removed because they are too heavy to be permanently in place. The mayor said the city plans to replace them with new, lighter rings.
The controversy comes as Ms Hidalgo prepares to run against Rachida Dati in the 2026 mayoral election. Ms Dati is the outgoing culture minister and the current mayor of the area where the Eiffel Tower is located.
