Even assuming you accept the desire of the committee to “embody the French spirit by offering something new”, this is still reaching back further into the past than the Eiffel Tower. Also, the Phrygian cap is historically associated with The Terror. You know, show trials, “the national razor”, beheadings, etc. Great publicity..!

I mean, if they wanted to dip into “the heroic past” they could have gone with an image of Charlemagne. Yeah - whatever happened to that guy..? 😊