The man behind the world's most famous tower

It has become the literal symbol of Paris and France, and one of the wonders of the contemporary world. The Eiffel Tower is now inscribed in the minds of every human being who has ever heard of the Hexagone and its capital. We owe it to one man, Gustave Eiffel, and his team, who dared to defy the 300-metre height limit.

What do we really know about the man who left his name to this creation? This podcast looks back at the life of this engineer. He was born into a family that was already highly original for its time: his mother was a renowned entrepreneur, and his father was persuaded by her to work for him. Their Teutonic surname sounded bad at a time when Germans were little loved by the French, so Gustave adopted the Eifel and added a second "f" to Frenchize it. Inspired by his mother, who seized every initiative, he became interested in engineering, and particularly in iron, the use of which grew with the Industrial Revolution.

He began working on major rail infrastructures. He went on to develop his firm with a number of brilliant minds, and worked on the famous Statue of Liberty, sealing a pact of brotherhood with the United States. Nevertheless, he and his associates were thinking bigger. With Paris set to host the World's Fair, Eiffel wanted to build a tower over 300 meters high, capable of accommodating thousands of people. Thanks to his friendships, he won the tender and began construction. The challenge was colossal, all the more so as he wanted to exceed the 300-metre mark, unheard of at the time.

He also had to contend with critics who, when the tower was barely under construction, found it ugly and distorted Paris. From then on, he did a great deal of public relations work to win the hearts not only of Parisians, but also of the authorities, so that the tower would not disappear a few years later. Fortunately, the First World War demonstrated the usefulness of such a construction, which could relay messages far beyond French borders. Eiffel would come to be regarded as one of the world's greatest engineers, despite the problems associated with the... Panama Canal.

Running time: 32 minutes