The Paris 2024 Olympic Games had no shortage of controversies and now one more has been added. The cause is an artistic, seemingly harmless poster. As if the nightmare of security measures were not enough, especially at the opening ceremony along the Seine, due to the threat of strikes or the fear that the swimming test in the river would have to be canceled due to the water. contaminated, a bitter political controversy has broken out around the official poster presented last Monday at the Musée d'Orsay.
The proximity of the European elections on June 9 excites the sensitivities of those seeking to profit at the polls. The right and the extreme right, increasingly closer in ideology and strategy, have been scandalized by a poster in which the cross that crowns the dome of the Invalides has been eliminated and, furthermore, does not show the national tricolor flag. The leaders of the most nationalist and identity-based conservative current deplore a deliberate attempt to erase the characteristics of France, one more example of the radicalism of the woke culture promoted by the left.
The object of contention is a drawing by Ugo Gattoni (Paris, 1988) chosen by the organizing committee. The artist, highly sought after in the advertising sector, is a specialist in capturing millimeter details in his compositions, which are at the same time surreal, ghostly and dreamlike, while allowing the reading of multiple micro-stories inside.
The Paris 2024 posters required 2,000 hours of work over six months. “I immediately imagined a stadium city, open to the world, a suspended time in which you can walk through microcosms where Parisian monuments and sports disciplines happily coexist,” declared the author.
Gattoni's work may or may not be liked, for aesthetic reasons, but there is no doubt that the artist thoroughly worked on the concept. The poster shows a Paris in which dozens of sports and emblematic locations intermingle, with great graphic density, always in imaginative scenes of creative chaos. It is reminiscent of the book series Where's Waldo?, by British illustrator Martin Handord. The chromaticism prioritizes blues, pinks, greens and mauves. The Eiffel Tower, for example, is an unusual pink color and is tucked inside the Stade de France, the main venue for the Games, which is actually very far away, in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis. Gattoni plays with the subway, which he passes under the Arc de Triomphe. Trocadero Square overlooks the seafront of Marseille. A giant wave emerges in the sea, that of Tahiti, in Polynesia, where the surfing tests will be held. A diving board jumper is preparing to jump into the Seine. In the sky flies the Patrouille de France, the acrobatic squadron that draws the flag on great occasions, such as the parade on July 14, Bastille Day.
The guardians of the essences were especially upset that Gattoni replaced the cross on the dome of the Invalides with a simple arrow. They argue that it is a Catholic temple, the cathedral of Saint Louis of the Invalides. Under the dome is the tomb of Emperor Napoleon I. Double sacrilege, then.
The MEP of The Republicans (LR, right) and head of his party's list in June, François-Xavier Bellamy, was one of the most outraged. “They are willing to deny France until they distort reality to annul its history,” he denounced. How can we understand Les Invalides by erasing the cross that constitutes its deep meaning? "How can we pretend to love a country when everything possible is done to destroy its roots?"
The chorus of critical voices was joined by Jordan Bardella, also an MEP and president of the National Rally (RN, far-right), who is running again for a seat in Strasbourg. Bardella sees in the poster the hand of Macronism, committed to “a great erasure of our identity.” Another far-right leader, Marion Maréchal (Marine Le Pen's niece), who is running for the Reconquista party, asked herself: “What is the point of celebrating the Games in France if we then hide who we are?”
The debate reached foreign leaders of the right. The Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, estimated that “it was not a good idea to erase the Invalids Cross.” “It is not a good idea to erase our history and our identity to send a message to others,” said Silvio Berlusconi's successor at the head of Forza Italia. No Muslim, no Jew would have erased history from him. If we do not respect ourselves, others will never respect Europeans. “It is not secularism, it is stupidity.”
Surprised by the unleashed storm, Gattoni denied any intentionality and recalled that his illustrations “never seek to be faithful” to the original buildings, but rather that the viewer “recognizes them in the blink of an eye and projects them in a surreal and festive universe.” “I evoke them as they seem to me in the spirit, without ulterior motives,” he added. Nor did the organizers admit any political conditioning or undeclared desire to please Muslims. The absence of the cross would not be due to article 50 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits any political, religious or racial propaganda. Regarding the non-display of the flag, they consider the criticism misplaced because the national flag of the respective countries was not displayed at the London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016 or Tokyo 2020 Games.
Most likely, the controversy will die down over time. It is certain, however, that the debate will have been an excellent promotion for the sale of the poster, available in various formats and on sale from 20 euros in the seven official stores of the Games and at the Musée d'Orsay. Sport cannot separate itself from politics and even less so from business.
