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PARIS TERROR ATTACKS

SECURITY

Eiffel Tower reopens with message of defiance

The Eiffel Tower, closed since Friday's terrorist attacks, reopened to the public Monday afternoon and will be lit up in the colours of the French flag for three nights.

Published: 16 November 2015 16:40 CET
Eiffel Tower reopens with message of defiance
The Eiffel Tower lit up in the colours of the French flag for Bastille Day 2015. Photo: Joel Saget/AFP

France's most famous monument began welcoming visitors again on Monday at 4:20pm after it was closed throughout the weekend.

The tower's operations organization announced that the structure would be illuminated in the French tricolour, red, white and blue, from dusk till 1am on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

In addition, the city's motto 'fluctuat nec megritur' will be projected onto the tower. The motto translates literally as 'tossed but not sunk', but is usually rendered as 'it is beaten by the waves but does not sink' – a message which seems particularly appropriate as the city struggles to make sense of Friday's horrific attacks.

Buildings and monuments in cities around the world were illuminated in the colours of the French flag over the weekend, in a display of solidarity with victims of the attacks which killed 129 people of 19 nationalities. 

Additional security measures and police officers are in place at the tower.

The Eiffel Tower is usually visited by up to 20,000 people each day. Its lights were switched off on Friday night after the news of the attacks, and it has stayed closed as a state of emergency was proclaimed across France.

The lights were turned back on Sunday evening, but the usual twinkling which occurs for five minutes at each hour has not yet been restarted. “It didn't seem appropriate to us,” Isabelle Esnous, Director of Communication at the tower, told AFP.

France's museums and concert halls were permitted to open their doors from 1pm on Monday, Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin announced.

PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Published: 14 February 2024 13:01 CET
Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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