If someone thinks of a good advertising placement, a large billboard in full view of all may be one of the options that come to mind. But what if we were talking about one of the most famous monuments of all time? Citroën managed to light up the Eiffel Tower and this is the story of how he did it.
Everything was conceived in the middle of World War I, in a meeting promoted by the French government. Given how visible Paris was by its lights, German zeppelins had no problem hitting the city with their bombs.
For this reason, Fernando Jacopozzi, a lighting specialist, was commissioned to recreate part of Paris in the nearby Fontainebleau forest to deceive aircraft. Also at that meeting was André Citroën, who had not yet made cars, but who did make contact.
Years later, in 1922, when the war was over, Jacopozzi had a rather unique project in mind: to illuminate the Eiffel Tower. For this he contacted the richest industrialist of the time, Louis Renault.
However, the meeting did not go as expected, since the costs were very high and he declined his proposal. Thinking of alternatives, he fell in with Citroën, so he tried his luck and exposed his plan.
It required 200,000 light bulbs, 100 km of cable and a small power plant that could be powered by the water of the Seine. With this, the name of the already brand of cars would appear in letters 30 meters high on the four sides of the monument.
The offer was tempting, but due to the costs, André had to reject it. At that moment the Italian traced his move, assuring that in an hour he had an appointment with Renault to make the same proposal.
It was a lie, but Citroën took the bait and asked where he had to sign to keep the exclusive lighting of the tower for a period of 10 years. Work was set to work immediately and the firing took place on July 4, 1925.
