As the tower is public property, its photographing by day is permitted but at night, when it is illuminated by shining decorations, photographing is banned because of copyright laws.

Anyone wishing to take pictures at night has to obtain a license to avoid breaching copyright laws, because the illuminated decorations are in fact the work of several artists.

This ban is the result of a little known clause in European regulations according to which the tower’s night illumination is a work of art and as such is protected by copyrights.

Besides France, this law is implemented in Italy and Belgium, while in Romania, Slovenia, and Bulgaria taking pictures is permitted if they are not intended for sale, while in Germany and the UK you can take pictures and freely post them on social networks without any restrictions.