Apple iPhone ad in Paris square to be torn down
France’s culture minister has ordered the removal of a giant advertisement for Apple’s iPhone that locals said was desecrating the facade of a historic building in one of Paris’s most beautiful squares, the Place des Vosges.
The giant picture of a blue iPhone 5C against a pink background has been in place since late 2012, to the surprise of the hordes of tourists who come to admire the square that hosts the former home of the 19th-century writer Victor Hugo, now a museum.
Locals had complained that it was an eyesore, and in response to their complaints Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti finally decided that the 110 square metre advertisement must come down, which her office told Le Parisien newspaper was likely to happen on Wednesday this week.
The ad covered the scaffolding on the front of the Laffemas building, which is classed as a French historic monument Proceeds for hosting the giant poster went to financing the renovation of the early 17th-century building in the Marais district near Bastille.
Place des Vosges is currently one of the French capital’s most exclusive addresses, with real estate prices to match.
It was to his then wife Anne Sinclair's apartment on the square that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the disgraced former head of the International Monetary Fund, went upon his return to Paris after being accused of sexual assault by a hotel maid in New York.
by Rory Mulholland
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The giant picture of a blue iPhone 5C against a pink background has been in place since late 2012, to the surprise of the hordes of tourists who come to admire the square that hosts the former home of the 19th-century writer Victor Hugo, now a museum.
Locals had complained that it was an eyesore, and in response to their complaints Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti finally decided that the 110 square metre advertisement must come down, which her office told Le Parisien newspaper was likely to happen on Wednesday this week.
The ad covered the scaffolding on the front of the Laffemas building, which is classed as a French historic monument Proceeds for hosting the giant poster went to financing the renovation of the early 17th-century building in the Marais district near Bastille.
Place des Vosges is currently one of the French capital’s most exclusive addresses, with real estate prices to match.
It was to his then wife Anne Sinclair's apartment on the square that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the disgraced former head of the International Monetary Fund, went upon his return to Paris after being accused of sexual assault by a hotel maid in New York.
by Rory Mulholland
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