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Paris mayor says Olympic rings to stay on Eiffel Tower ‘until 2028’

Paris's mayor said on Friday that she intended to keep the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower until at least 2028 despite criticism of the idea from some residents and lawmakers.

Published: 6 September 2024 12:58 CEST
Paris mayor says Olympic rings to stay on Eiffel Tower 'until 2028'
The moon rises behind the Olympic rings displayed on the Eiffel Tower in Paris on July 22, 2024, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP)

The logo of five interlocking rings was erected on the beloved monument before the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, and it has become a popular backdrop for selfies by visitors.

Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist mayor in power since 2014, caused widespread surprise last weekend by saying she intended to retain the symbol.

“The proposal that I have made for the rings … is a proposal that until 2028, until the Games in Los Angeles, we will leave the rings on the Eiffel Tower,” she told reporters at a press conference.

“Perhaps after 2028, they’ll stay and maybe they won’t. Let’s see,” she added.

The idea has sparked criticism from many opposition Parisian lawmakers, residents as well as conservation groups.

The descendants of the tower’s designer, Gustave Eiffel, issued a statement saying that it “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”.

READ MORE: ‘Madness’: Should Paris keep the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower?

Deputy mayor Pierre Rabadan confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that Hidalgo wanted to keep the rings permanently on the tower.

The Agitos logo for the Paralympic Games, which wrap up on Sunday, was placed on the Arc de Triomphe but will be moved to a location mid-way up the Champs-Elysees avenue, Hidalgo added.

Some critics have slammed the Eiffel Tower announcement as a personnal initiative taken without consulting the city’s council, or the capital’s residents more broadly.

“The mayor of Paris is not someone who lets opportunities slip by,” Hidalgo told reporters. “When you’re mayor you take decisions because you are legitimate to take them.”

The rings belong to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) while the Eiffel Tower is the property of the city of Paris.

It is on a list of protected monuments which is likely to complicate the task of keeping the logo.

The current rings will have to be removed because they are too heavy to keep on the monument, with the IOC financing a technical study to design new, lighter versions that can be attached to an attraction known affectionately by Parisians as “the Iron Lady”.

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TRAVEL NEWS

The key post-Olympics Paris transport changes you need to know

The end of the Paris Paralympics will signal transport changes in the capital city, from Metro ticket prices to road restrictions lifted and possible drop in the ring road speed limit. Here’s what’s changing for travel in the French capital this autumn.

Published: 3 September 2024 15:06 CEST
Updated: 8 September 2024 11:31 CEST
The key post-Olympics Paris transport changes you need to know

With Paris gradually going back to normal after hosting the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there are some travel changes in store for the autumn.

For those interested in travel changes on the national level – including trains, planes and roads – you can find more information here.

As for Paris, here is what to expect;

Metro prices – The price of Paris Metro tickets return to their usual amounts from Monday, September 9th, the day after the closing ceremony of the Paralympics – after almost doubling in price during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

During the Games, single tickets (which are used on Metros, buses, RER trains and/or trams) went up to €4, in contrast to the €2.15, while a carnet – or bundle of 10 tickets, cost €32, compared to usual €17.30. 

READ ALSO Price of Paris Metro ticket to be cut after Paralympics

Metro stations – Two Metro stations remain closed because of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Champs-Elysées-Clémenceau station (lines 1 and 13) will reopen fully on September 9th.

Line 12 of the Concorde station will reopen completely from September 21st – lines 1 and 8 have already re-opened.

Metro Line 14 – RATP announced that the Purple Line will close on the following Sundays: September 15th, 29th, October 13th, November 17th and 24th; while it will also close every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evening from September 9th through to December 19th (except for Tuesday, October 15th, and Monday, November 11th) for essential works. Gustave Roussy station will open in December.

“Other interruptions are expected from January 2025,” RATP announced.

READ MORE: Trains, planes and roads: The big autumn travel changes in France

Metro Line 4 – The line will be closed on the morning of Sunday, September 29th to finalise the automation of the line.

Road restrictions lifted – Lane restrictions on certain routes in and around Paris for the Olympic and Paralympic Games end on September 11th – good news for commuters heading back to work following the summer holidays. The Olympic lanes will eventually be turned into carpool and public transport lanes.

Speed limits on these routes, which were reduced along certain stretches for the duration of the lane restrictions, will return to normal.

Roads reopen – Major roads in the capital that have been closed to traffic during the Olympic and Paralympic Games will reopen gradually in September, with most opening fully by September 11th. Avenue du Maréchal Gallieni, however, will remain closed until September 25th, to allow the Games venue there to be dismantled. 

Tram stations – Porte d’Issy (T2)  and Porte de Versailles (T2 and T3a) reopen to passengers on September 7th, while Colette Besson (3b) reopens on September 8th.

What could change

Flying taxis – The Olympic flying taxis plan failed to materialise in the end, but the company behind the project hopes to have a required European aviation safety certificates ‘in the autumn’ – and intends to “have a paying passenger before the end of the year,” according to an ADP spokesperson, talking to Europe1.

READ ALSO Paris ‘flying taxi’ test flights scrapped during Olympics

Speed limits – Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo announced plans to cut the speed limit on the city’s ring road, in an effort to meet climate goals. Under her plan, the speed limit would go down to 50km/h in October, dropping from the current 70km/h. This has so far been opposed by regional authorities.

What has already changed

Parking – The cost of parking an SUV in Paris tripled from September 1st, following a citizens’ referendum. In the first to the 11th arrondissements, the cost has risen from €6 to €18, while in the 12th to the 20th it increased from €4 to €12.

RER – Since the start of the school year on Monday, trains on the RER A in Ile-de-France – the busiest local rail line in Europe, which transports some 1.4 million passengers per day – received more carriages to ease passenger overcrowding. 

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