Our actions
[ THE ADGE ]
What we do ?
Since its creation, the ADGE has carried out many actions, here are the main ones:
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More details on our actions
Promoting the memory of Gustave Eiffel in the media:
ADGE representatives participate in documentaries and television programs related to Gustave Eiffel to inform the public and promote his memory, such as:
- the documentary “Gustave Eiffel, la technologie derrière le génie” broadcasted on RMC Découverte in November 2019
- for the 130th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower : “la matinale de Jean-Jacques Bourdin sur RMC et BFM-TV”, Wendy Bouchard’s program “le Tour de la question” on Europe 1, 19/20 and Météo à la carte on France 3, etc…
Organizing and participating to events:
The ADGE participates in numerous events linked to the memory and defence of Gustave Eiffel’s work, notably :
Defending the memory of Gustave Eiffel :
The ADGE defends the name and memory of Gustave Eiffel, and takes legal action when necessary. For example, it successfully sued the company Gustave Eiffel Licensing, which sold poor quality products in the name and likeness of our ancestor (see summary of the judgment), or against CFECM, a subsidiary of the Eiffage group, which used the name Eiffel without the family’s permission (see summary of the judgment). More recently, ADGE has opposed the abusive and purely commercial exploitation of the GUSTAVE EIFFEL, EIFFEL and CAFÉ EIFFEL trademarks. The ruling of 20 November 2018 by the Bordeaux Court of Appeal (RG n°15 07185) following an order of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Bordeaux of 13 October 2015, has won its case: all these abusive and unauthorised trademarks have been cancelled.
Monitoring and advocating for the protection of works :
The ADGE monitors the sites and buildings linked to Gustave Eiffel and his work and campaigns for their protection. This is particularly the case for :
• The Eiffel Bridge in Bordeaux
Since 2001, the ADGE has been working with the public authorities and the SNCF to defend this structure, which was threatened with destruction (see news). This work is important for several reasons: it is Gustave Eiffel’s first work as a master builder – he was only 26 years old at the time – and it is also a witness to the first use of innovative techniques that were to make the great engineer successful (cf. 2004 press article). The ADGE’s efforts were taken up and continued with great success by the Association “Sauvons la Passerelle Eiffel“, created in 2005 by our cousins Myriam Larnaudie-Eiffel and Xavier Larnaudie-Eiffel and aimed more particularly at the residents of the footbridge and the inhabitants of Bordeaux. The initial actions of the ADGE and those pursued since by “Sauvons la Passerelle Eiffel” have indeed made it possible to preserve the footbridge: now classified, it can no longer be destroyed! But they have also enabled us to envisage a new future for it, perhaps as an exhibition space (cf. news).
• The Eiffel Bridges in Vietnam
The ADGE organized a trip to Vietnam in order to list the Eiffel bridges still in existence in the region – the beginning of a long-term effort for the preservation of Eiffel’s work in Asia.
• Gustave Eiffel's Grave
• The Monumental Sculpture "The Winged Dream"
Created in 1981 by the sculptor Robert Rigot, winner of the First Grand Prix de Rome in 1954, this huge metal bird was erected in Dijon in 1981 in memory of Gustave Eiffel. Suffering from rust and the passage of time, the ADGE obtained from the Dijon town hall, at the end of 2013, that the statue be restored (cf. news).
Leading the Gustave Eiffel Scientific Committee :
ADGE has created the Eiffel Scientific Committee to provide precise answers to the questions addressed to it, in particular official requests for the identification of Gustave Eiffel’s works, and to coordinate actions to protect his works. The Eiffel Scientific Committee brings together the most eminent specialists in the great engineer, including Vincent Guigueno (Deputy Director of Research at the Quai Branly Museum, specialist in lighthouse heritage), Odile Lassère (Chief Curator of Heritage – Curator of the Iron Museum in Nancy), Bernard Toulier (General Curator of Heritage – Specialist in 20th century architecture) and Bertrand Lemoine (Architect and historian – Honorary Director of Research CNRS. Specialist in metal architecture)
Assessing image rights and use of patronymic :
The ADGE evaluates the requests submitted to it for the use of the name and image of Gustave Eiffel. It refuses its moral authorization, or gives it, according to the relationship of these projects with the memory of the great engineer. Commercial projects are particularly monitored.
