The Eiffel Tower appears to be showing support for gay marriage and equal rights, according to the Huffington Post.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, during the Bastille Day fireworks, the famous monument was lit up with the colors of the rainbow in a brilliant light show to illuminate France's motto, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity."
The lights appeared to be arranged in the pattern of a rainbow, the symbol of the gay rights movement.
However, the lights were actually a tribute to South African president Nelson Mandela, according to Bertrand Delanoe, the mayor of Paris. The country is often called the "rainbow nation," a term which was first used by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe the country's multiculturalism.
In spite of the statement by the mayor attributing the lights to Mandela, many still saw the rainbow lights as a subtle tribute to France recently legalizing gay marriage.
Music accompanied the lights, with an undertone that could be construed as supporting marriage equality.
"All living beings, man, woman and child, walk in the same vein: equality," the voice said through the speakers. "Every human being is a shade of this rainbow palette.
"For every human, the same opportunities," the voice continued.
Some people praised the possibility of the lights being a message in support of LGBT rights, while others, mainly members of the anti-gay group "Manif Pour Tous," criticized it.
It was called a provocation from Paris' mayor by Luc Chatel, the deputy vice president of France's Union for Popular Movement party, a right-leaning group.
"If Mr. Chantel saw a reference to gay marriage, then good for him, it just means that he is obsessed," Jean-Eric Ougier, the designer of the fireworks display, said to Europe 1's Le Lab, in response to the comment and harsh critiques on Twitter and in the media.
The Eiffel Tower rainbow lights display.
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