Paris: Workers removed the Olympics logo from the Eiffel Tower in the early hours of Friday, returning the beloved monument to its familiar form - but perhaps only temporarily.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has promised to build new Olympic rings and return them to the landmark as a tribute to the hugely successful Olympic Games held in the capital during July and August.
The proposal has polarised opinion in the French capital and has been criticised by descendants of the tower's designer Gustave Eiffel, as well as conservation groups.
After initially suggesting the new rings should be permanent, Hidalgo has proposed they remain on the city's world-renowned symbol until the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
Workers operating multiple large cranes removed the 30-tonne steel rings from between the first and second floors of the tower during the early hours of Friday morning.
They were first installed just under four months ago, on June 7, and will now be melted down and recycled.
The new rings, which the International Olympic Committee is expected to pay for, would be lighter versions of the originals and less prominent, according to a deputy Paris mayor, Pierre Rabadan.
"In my opinion, it would be better to put them somewhere else because it's a Parisian monument and it's not right that it becomes an advertising medium for an event that is now over," Hugo Staub, a French tourist at the tower on Friday, told AFP.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati, a longtime critic and opponent of Hidalgo, has also cast doubt over the idea, saying the mayor's proposal would need to respect procedures protecting historic buildings.
But others felt regret at losing a visual reminder of an enchanted period in Paris and expressed support for the idea of replacements.
"They were a bit large so it's better to put small ones that can remain for a few years," said Gabriel, a French volunteer at the Games, who was at the foot of the tower on Friday. "It would be symbolic and a great souvenir."
Maintenance issues
After months of gloom and self-doubt in the run-up to the start of the Olympics on July 26, Paris and the country at large threw themselves into the spirit of the Games, which have been hailed as some of the best of the modern era.
Hidalgo, in power since 2014, also wants to retain other symbols of the event such as the innovative cauldron placed in front of the Louvre museum as well as statues of illustrious women placed in the river Seine during the opening ceremony.
Several conservation groups in Paris have urged the Socialist city leader to prioritise maintenance of the Eiffel Tower, which is owned and operated by the city, rather than the Olympic rings.
The tower's workers launched a five-day strike in February to protest against its state of disrepair and to request extra spending on painting and anti-rust protection.
