Paris Olympics: Row over 'woke' map as Paris gears up for games

Artist Ugo Gattoni said he wanted to create a "festive universe" with his depiction of Paris

The designer of the official poster for this summer's Paris Olympics has responded to criticism that his art erases symbols of French identity and Christianity.

The design features a cartoon map of Paris with a wealth of details.

Conservatives have criticised the lack of the French tricolour, and a cross missing from the Hôtel des Invalides landmark.

Artist Ugo Gattoni said he wanted to create a "festive universe".

Francois-Xavier Bellamy of the right-wing Republicans party wrote on X that the people responsible for the image were "ready to deny France, going so far as to distort reality to cancel its history".

National Rally (RN) lawmaker Nicolas Meizonnet complained that the omissions were the result of le wokisme, a bugbear of France's far right.

The term "woke" came into more mainstream use in the mid-2010s, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as being "aware" or "well-informed" in a political or cultural sense.

It has since become widely used as a criticism by conservative politicians and media for a range of topics.

Ugo Gattoni's stylised panorama of Paris manages to take in Paris's major landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, and to include all 54 Olympic and Paralympic sports.

In reaction to being pulled into France's culture wars, Mr Gattoni said he had drawn buildings "in the way they come to my mind, without any ulterior motive".

A statement from the organising committee sent to French news agency AFP said the posters were a "light-hearted interpretation of a reinvented stadium-city".

A surfing wave is seen "offshore of the Marseille Marina; the Eiffel Tower is pink; the Metro is passing through the Arc de Triomphe - none of which should be the object of politically motivated interpretations," it added.

The colours of the French flag - blue, white and red - are present in the mascots' rosettes, it added, and other national symbols such as Marianne, the personification of France, are also visible.

It is not the only controversy currently engulfing the Invalides.

The historic military complex in central Paris where Napoleon is buried is also at the centre of a row involving proposals for Saudi Arabia to build an Olympic village at the site.

The French Armed Forces Ministry said negotiations with Saudi Arabia were "ongoing" but said use of the Invalides site would be subject to strict conditions.

"Some things are not for sale - the Invalides is one of them," right-wing MP Nathalie Serre said.

The Paris Olympics take place from 26 July to 11 August. They will be followed by the Paralympics from 28 August to 8 September.