The Paris mayor’s proposal to leave the iconic logo on France’s landmark tower has sparked a public row

The descendants of the engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower say they will fight plans to permanently leave the Olympic rings on the iconic structure after this year’s Summer Games, according to media reports.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo recently revealed plans to keep the massive multicolored rings on the ‘Dame de Fer’ or ‘Iron Lady’ until at least 2028, when the next Games will be held in Los Angeles. The Paris 2024 Games were held from July 26 to August 11. Hidalgo said the International Olympic Committee had agreed that the rings could remain on the tower.

The plan has sparked public outcry, however, and the family of the monument’s architect Gustave Eiffel are among those most opposed to the retention of the rings.

The family association, AGDE, which consists of around 70 of Eiffel’s living descendants, reportedly said in a statement on Sunday that they “oppose any alteration that negatively impacts respect for the work” of their ancestor.

They argued that the symbol is “colorful, large in size, placed on the main avenue of approach to the tower [and] creates a strong imbalance” in the tower’s shape, “substantially modifying the very pure forms of the monument.”

Keeping the rings in place would go against “the neutrality and meaning acquired over the years by the Eiffel Tower, which has become the symbol of the city of Paris and even all of France across the world,” AGDE stated, according to local media reports.

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The family association said they had already consulted lawyers about blocking the plan, and suggested that the rings stay in place only until “the end of 2024, which marks the end of the Olympic year.”

AGDE had previously stated that “it does not seem appropriate” that the Eiffel Tower “should be added to the symbol of an external organization in a lasting way, whatever its prestige.”

The 1,082-foot (330-meter) Eiffel Tower was built by the legendary engineer as a temporary structure for the 1889 Paris Exposition. The tower, which is now owned by the city of Paris, was originally intended to remain for only 20 years. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991.

The Eiffel Tower’s official website says it is the world’s most visited monument, attracting around seven million people every year.