Meanwhile, almost directly beneath me, thousands of picnickers on the sprawling green lawns of the Champ de Mars are raising a glass of bubbly to the silhouette of the 330-metre-high wrought-iron lattice tower built by Gustave Eiffel as the centrepiece of the 1889 World Fair. Gustave only had permission for it to stand for 20 years. Fortuitously, city authorities, realising its telegraphy potential, decided not to tear it down and it’s now one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world. More than 7 million people are expected to visit this year alone. I’m one of those, and right now peering down on the City of Light, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Even the wailing of those all-pervading Parisian police sirens sounds melodic from the upper observation deck of the Eiffel Tower.
