Why did the Eiffel Tower almost disappear 5 minutes of French

Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of 5 Minutes of French Today I'm with Judith Hi Judith Hi Émilie hi everyone So what are we going to talk about today Well then today we're going to talk about a monument everyone knows the Eiffel Tower But not to tell its classic story no We'll talk about the fact that she was originally supposed to be destroyed Wait you mean this symbol of Paris which attracts millions of visitors every year nearly vanished Exactly But before revealing everything to you I have a quick question for you Émilie and for all of you listening How long did it take to build the Eiffel Tower A 2 years and 2 months B 5 years C 10 years I don't know Go with a guess—I'd say 5 years The answer at the end of this episode So let's go back a little The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair The goal was to showcase it to the entire world France's technical and industrial expertise At the time this metal structure over 300 meters long was a true marvel It's clear especially when you consider the technological resources available at the time But I remember reading that at first she didn't have unanimous support That's putting it mildly Many Parisians found it hideous A group of about fifty artists and intellectuals They even signed a petition calling for the project to be halted They said it was a gigantic factory chimney or yet another monstrous iron skeleton Cute isn't it Ah the art of the French compliment Well true enough for its time it must have been vastly different from anything anyone had ever known Gustave Eiffel the engineer had signed a contract allowing him to operate the tower for only 20 years After that period it had to be dismantled so normally around 1909 That was the end curtain call So overall it was just a temporary project like some of the structures built for the Olympic Games But why destroy it It must have cost a fortune Yes but back then we didn't see the point Keeping such a massive structure just for show I imagine it also required a lot of space and was expensive to maintain Exactly So what saved her The waves The waves Yes at the beginning of the 20th century The Eiffel Tower with its incredible height was perfect for installing antennas The French army began using it o transmit messages over long distances Ah so she was saved for strategic reasons and not at all for her appearance That's right And that truly changed everything They even say that during World War I the Eiffel Tower helped intercept enemy communications In short she became a military asset Ah okay Gradually public opinion shifted What was once considered a horror has become a symbol And furthermore the Eiffel Tower served as a site for experimentation For example the first television transmitters were tested there And in the 1920s she began to glow at night enhancing her romantic image As it turns out innovation can completely transform The fate of a monument Yes And today it attracts around 7 million visitors annually It is the most visited paid monument in the world Not bad for a factory chimney huh Well and the answer to your question The correct answer was… Just two years and two months Work began in January 1887 and was completed in March 1889—a truly astonishing pace for the time Especially with the technological means available at the end of the nineteenth century Impressive And yet she nearly vanished just twenty years later… Yes Sold as scrap metal We would have lost one of France's most powerful symbols It's enough to make you think One always assumes great monuments were revered from the start yet in reality they sometimes had to prove their worth Exactly Alright shall we clarify a few words or expressions before wrapping up Yes at the beginning of the episode you used the expression "au pif " which means "approximately" or "at random " Next I also used the expression "to gain unanimous approval " That means everyone agrees with us We could also precisely say "getting everyone on the same page " And finally we conclude with the expression "changer la donne " This phrase is inspired by card game terminology When the situation changes the cards are reshuffled so the circumstances completely shift In French it's used to convey that an event completely alters the circumstances or outcome of a situation Perfect Thank you Judith for this amazing story Thank you to you Émilie And you do you know of any other monuments or works of art What nearly vanished We’re waiting for your answers in the comments And as always don’t forget to download the PDF worksheet with transcription and vocabulary It's in the description or on our French website francaisavecpierre com Thank you all and see you very soon Hi everyone