The Soul On Eiffel Tower

Illuminations
And in order to continue to attract sightseers, the Iron Lady varies her attire. For the transition
to the year 2000 she sparkled. She was decked in blue for Europe Day in 2006 and to mark the French
Presidency of the European Union in 2008, in red to celebrate the Chinese New Year in 2004, and in
green for the Rugby World Cup in 2007.
Every time there is a great event to celebrate, the Eiffel Tower comes into its own. Given its
fame, the impact is in no doubt. Does this mean that the Tower has become the vehicle of
communication of the French state, a relay station for all large-scale operations? It has in reality always played this role, even before it was built.



At the time, European leaders realised that technological advances could be used as a political
showcase, given that public opinion is very sensitive to progress. By presenting its innovations, a state
displays its superiority over its rivals. Gustave Eiffel was not mistaken, promoting the “compendium of
contemporary science” that was his construction, but also the “boldness of its conception”, and above
all the proof that “we are not only a country of entertainers, but a country of engineers and builders
who are called upon all over the world”.
A symbol of French expertise, the Tower inspires admiration, but also jealousy. We have lost
count of the number of replicas and identical copies in the United States, China, Japan, and elsewhere.
But what is it really? The best definition is probably that of Roland Barthes
1
: “Look, object, symbol,
the Tower is all that man puts in it, and this all is infinite. A spectacle looked at and looking, a useless
and irreplaceable building, a familiar world and heroic symbol, the witness to a century and an
always new monument, an inimitable and endlessly reproduced object, it is the pure sign, open to all
times, all images and all senses: the unbridled metaphor; through the Tower, men exercise this great
faculty of the imagination, which is their freedom; since no history, however dark it may be, has ever
been able to take theirs away."
Although it is a venerable age today, the Iron Lady still has what it takes to make the planet
dream…

Nathalie Gricorciu