The Olympic rings, which adorned the Eiffel Tower during the summer's Olympic Games and Paralympics, are to get a permanent place on the classic building, said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo the other day.
A bad idea, say the descendants of Gustave Eiffel, who constructed the tower for the World Championship in 1889.
Olivier Berthelot-Eiffel, chairman of the organization Association of the Descendants of Gustave Eiffel, says that the rings are welcome to stay for a while after the Paralympics end on September 8 – but not forever.
The Eiffel Tower should not become an advertising pillar. Anne Hidalgo should have said that she wished to keep the Olympic rings, not that she had already decided it, and then discussed the idea together with the Paris City Council and other relevant persons, says Olivier Berthelot-Eiffel to AFP.
Hidalgo's plan is to take down the current Olympic rings and replace them with a lighter version after the Paralympics.
