Ten years after the attacks that hit Paris, the Iron Lady will wear the colors of the French flag. On the evenings of Wednesday 12 November and Thursday 13 November, the Eiffel Tower will be lit up in blue, white and red, as a tribute to the 130 victims of 13 November 2015 and their loved ones. The announcement was made this Monday by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, on Instagram.
“10 years later, Paris and the entire country pay tribute this week to the victims of November 13 2015, to their families and loved ones,” the socialist-elect wrote. “In their memory, the Eiffel Tower will be lit up in blue, white and red on Wednesday 12 November and Thursday 13 November as night falls. Paris remembers. We will never forget it. »
The symbolic lighting is carried out the day before and on the same day as the national commemoration day. This Thursday, November 13, tribute ceremonies will be held in all the locations affected by the attacks, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, Anne Hidalgo and the victims’ associations.
The day will start at the Stade de France at 11:30, before continuing in front of the terraces of Petit Cambodge and Carillon, La Bonne Bière, Comptoir Voltaire, La Belle Équipe and finally the Bataclan. The peak will occur at 6 pm. in the new memorial garden 13 November 2015, Place Saint-Gervais.
Previewed a few days ago
Early risers may have already felt this radiant reverence. On November 6, at around 5 am, the Eiffel Tower was already lit up in the colors of the tricolor flag, probably for a technical test.
This lighting is part of an existing tradition. An iconic monument of the capital, the Eiffel Tower is often used to mark tragic or celebratory events. The lights were extinguished on the night of the attacks on November 13, 2015. More recently, they were lit in blue and yellow for Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24, or in blue and white in support of Israel after the Hamas attacks in October 2023.
Every year, the monument is also decorated in pink for the Pink October campaign against breast cancer. But as Jean-François Martins, president of the Eiffel Tower Society, reminds us, “The Tower is not a PowerPoint whose colors you can change with the press of a button.” This particular lighting required several hours of preparation and mobilization of external projectors and service providers.
The owner of the monument, the City of Paris is the only one capable of deciding this symbolic illumination or extinction. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, the Iron Lady will appear in the Paris sky, decked out in blue, white and red, to never be forgotten.
