International
Paris mayor wants Olympic flame balloon to stay near Louvre after games end
PARIS — Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said she hopes the Olympic flame suspended below its balloon can remain in central Paris near the Louvre museum after the games end. The flame — which is not a flame but an illusion of fire created with lights — has
The flame — which is not a flame but an illusion of fire created with lights — has become a fixture of the Paris Olympics, with hundreds of Parisians and tourists coming to watch it every evening when it goes up at sundown in the Jardin des Tuileries park near the Louvre.
Hidalgo said it was not her decision to make, as the Louvre and Tuileries are state property, but added she had written to President Emmanuel Macron, asking for the flame to remain in place and not be moved to another location.
"I would very much like to keep this symbol of the games at this very spot because elsewhere it would not have the same significance," Hidalgo said in an interview with France 2 television on Wednesday.
"Our heritage has been magnified by these games, and I think we need to add to it. Everybody is in love with Paris today, so let's continue," she said.
