The Paris Olympics took one of France’s iconic symbols and gave it bangs

Paris revealed the logo for the 2024 Olympics, and it is debonaire.

The logo combines three elements associated with the Olympics and France: the shape and color of a gold medal, a flame in the negative space, and an overall effect creating the face of a woman meant to be Marianne, the human symbol of France’s values like liberty and equality.

Marianne rarely looks so well coiffed, however. She is often depicted in the throes of revolution, standing stoically and defiantly against France’s enemies, her hair bundled in a Phrygian cap. She almost never lets her hair down, and even more rarely does her hair fall in effortless bangs that frame a faint hint of a smile.

For reference, here’s a famous representation of Marianne:

And here’s the Paris 2024 logo:

Marianne, again:

Paris 2024, again:

You can see the difference.

Which isn’t to say that there’s something wrong with the logo. I think it’s great. It’s perfectly French: understated and elegant and mildly flirty. The logo also alludes to the French Oriflamme, the battle standard of French royalty, raised to signify no prisoners were to be taken in battle as long as it flew. This modernized version is both sexy and subtly terrifying.

Some symbols should evolve with the times, and it’s a high compliment to be able to say you exude the same energy as Carly Rae Jepsen.

And yes, this was a long preamble to get to this joke by my coworker Michael Katz when I shared that tweet in Slack.

Hey, I just met you
and this is crazy
but here’s some tax breaks
Olympics, maybe

Emotion is a great album. Vive la France.