Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has sparked a debate over her interest in retaining the Olympic rings on the iconic Eiffel Tower after the conclusion of the Paralympic Games.

While a number of citizens in the French capital backed the move, including the heritage campaigners, a few others said that it will ”defile” the iconic monument.

“The decision is up to me, and I have the agreement of the IOC (International Olympic Committee),” she told the Ouest-France newspaper over the weekend.

“So yes, they (the rings) will stay on the Eiffel Tower,” she added.

The five rings — 29m (95ft) wide, 15m high, and 30 tonnes in weight — were set to be uninstalled after the Paris Paralympics Closing Ceremony on September 8 but the mayor insisted against it. However, she said that the rings were too heavy, and would be replaced with a lighter version at some point.

The Mayor also said that “the French have fallen in love with Paris again” during the Games, and she wanted “this festive spirit to remain”.

Some Parisians supported the French mayor’s call. “The Eiffel Tower is very beautiful, the rings add colour. It’s very nice to see it like this,” a young woman, who identified herself as Solène, told the France Bleu website.

“It’s a historic monument, why defile it with rings? It was good for the Olympics but now it’s over, we can move on, maybe we should remove them and return the Eiffel Tower to how it was before,” he told France Bleu.

“A really bad idea,” another local resident said.