The Paris Olympics poster has seen a Christian cross removed from Napoleon’s grave, sparking anger among critics.
To promote the event, two art deco posters of the city were unveiled this week and displayed on billboards across the capital.
But right-wing critics have spoken out against ‘woke’ plans to remove a cross from the Domes des Invalides.
It comes amid anger over the government’s possible plans to build a Saudi ‘Olympic village’ on the grounds of Les Invalides.
Conservatives and liberals alike have shown anger after one of Emmanuel Macron’s ministers confirmed that Paris was “sympathetically” treating Riyadh’s request to erect a national pavilion in the center of the military complex.
The site houses museums of the army and the Legion of Honor, as well as the hospital for wounded soldiers. State memorial ceremonies and funerals take place in the courtyard.
The Olympic Games in Paris will take place from July 26 to August 11, followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.
The pavilion will take its place for a total of four months in May, according to plans revealed after Conservative MP Nathalie Serre demanded details in a parliamentary question.
French artist Ugo Gattoni’s promotional posters for the Olympic Games were unveiled yesterday, featuring the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides and the Grand Palais.
French artist Ugo Gattoni’s promotional posters for the Olympic Games were unveiled yesterday, featuring the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides and the Grand Palais. Pictured right: The domed church of Les Invalides
Francois-Xavier Bellamy of the right-wing Republican party noted that the cross was missing from the building where Napoleon’s tomb is kept and said angrily that those responsible for the statue were “prepared to deny France, going so far as to distorted reality to cancel the image’. it is history’.
“What’s the point of holding the Olympics in France if we hide who we are?” Marion Marechal of the far-right party Reconquete (Reconquest) posted a message on X.
National Rally lawmaker Nicolas Meizonnet wrote that the omissions must be the result of “wokism” – a specter of the far right in France.
In response to his involvement in France’s culture wars, Gattoni said he had depicted buildings “as they come to mind, without any ulterior motive.”
“My intention is not to make them accurate to the originals, but to make them recognizable at a glance and place them in a surreal and festive universe,” he said in a statement from the organizing committee.
The committee said the posters were a “light-hearted interpretation of a reinvented stadium city”, adding that there was no obligation to mention the French flag.
A surf wave can be seen ‘off the coast of Marseille marina; the Eiffel Tower is pink; the metro passes through the Arc de Triomphe – and none should be subject to politically motivated interpretations,” the report said.
The colors of the French flag – blue, white and red – are present in the mascots’ rosettes, and other national symbols such as Marianne are also visible.
Speaking about the proposal for the Saudi ‘Olympic village’, Serre said that a foreign state would not coincide with ‘an architectural treasure, full of symbolism and the history of our country’.
She added: ‘There are some things you can’t buy and I think Les Invalides is one of them.’
Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government was “sympathetic” to the proposal, noting that “Saudi Arabia is committed to respecting the security and financial measures of Les Invalides” and calling Riyadhan “an important defense partner.”
He said a number of countries would set up pavilions in the city.
The Defense Ministry noted that the deal was subject to “strict conditions that the Saudis have not yet accepted and which must guarantee the security and solemnity of the site and the tranquility of the retirees living there.”
Conservatives and liberals alike have expressed anger after one of Emmanuel Macron’s ministers confirmed that Paris wanted to ‘sympathetically’ set up a national pavilion in the center of the military complex at Riyadh’s request (File Photo)
With every decision scrutinized and debated on social media, organizers have faced criticism for their choices for the aesthetics and merchandise of the Games in the past.
Last year, critics criticized the fact that the official mascots for Paris 2024 were largely made in China, while others suggested the cute red triangles resembled a clitoris.
The official logo, featuring a flame, was compared to the one used by far-right National Rally party Marine Le Pen when it was unveiled in 2019.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Tuesday that a total of 326,000 tickets would be sold or given away for the opening ceremony on the Seine River, with the exact number given for the first time.
Organizers have scaled back plans for the water-borne outdoor parade – with a crowd once thought to be as large as two million people – despite opposition from French security services and concerns about terror attacks.
But in terms of size it will still break records, with all previous Olympic opening ceremonies taking place in the main athletics stadium.
“We will have 104,000 spectators on the lower bank who have paid for a ticket,” Darmanin said at a Senate hearing. “Then you have 222,000 people on the higher benches (with free tickets).”
He estimated that another 200,000 people would watch the July 26 parade along the river from buildings overlooking the Seine, and another 50,000 in fan zones in the capital.
The boat parade is in line with promises to make the Paris Olympics ‘iconic’, with the organizing committee keen to break with past traditions in the way it organizes the world’s biggest sporting event.