2024-03-08 00:24:03
French conservatives and representatives of the extreme right sharply objected to the official poster of this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. They complain that because of “wokism” it lacks a Christian cross or national flag.
The poster depicts a stylized panorama of Paris including the famous Dome des Invalides, the historic military complex in central Paris where Napoleon is buried. In real life, the central building is decorated with a Christian cross, which, however, is missing from the visualization.
Why did you erase the cross at the top of the Invalides dome from the official poster of the #JO2024 ? Why no French flag?
What is the point of organizing the Olympic Games in France if it is to hide what we are? pic.twitter.com/KrFtfMwyIy— Marion Maréchal (@MarionMarechal) March 5, 2024
“Those responsible for the image have gone so far as to distort reality in an attempt to cancel the history of France,” said Francois-Xavier Bellamy of the right-wing Republican Party on X. Who we are?” joined by Marion Marechal of the Reconquete (Reconquest) party.
Artist Ugo Gattoni’s design, presented on Monday, features a drawn Paris skyline with major landmarks such as the Dome des Invalides or the Eiffel Tower, but also a wealth of small details including all 54 Olympic and Paralympic sports.
Responding to the criticism, Gattoni said that he drew the buildings “as they came to mind, without any ulterior motive.”
“I do not aim to make them exactly like the originals, but rather to make them recognizable at first glance and place them in a surreal and celebratory universe,” the artist said in a statement sent to the media by the organizing committee.
He said the posters were a “lighthearted interpretation of the rediscovered stadium city” and added that there was no obligation to include the French flag.
For example, the visualization shows surfing on the coast of the port of Marseille, the Eiffel Tower is pink and the metro passes through the Arc de Triomphe. “None of these symbols should be subject to politically motivated interpretations,” the committee added.