Future shaky for Gallic big wheel

Several hundred angry fairground workers converged on Paris's big wheel yesterday to pledge their support - and muscle - to its owner in the latest instalment of a saga gripping the city.

The proprietor of la grande roue , Marcel Campion, ignored a court order to dismantle the attraction and promised he and his colleagues would fight police should they attempt to take it down by force.

"It will take thousands of them to push us out," he said. "I'm more than prepared to turn the Place de la Concorde into the Place de la Grande Discorde."

The wheel stands 180ft (55 metres) high, weighs 500 tonnes, and is lit by 50,000 bulbs. It first appeared in December 1999 on the Place de la Concorde, between the Champs Elysées and the Tuileries gardens, as a highlight of Paris's millennium celebrations, and was originally licensed for 12 months.

The then mayor, Jean Tiberi, extended that deadline by a year, despite the objections of the culture ministry which said the wheel ruined a beautiful urban perspective.

But Mr Tiberi's successor, Bertrand Delanoe, has won a court order requiring Mr Campion to take it down, under threat of a fine of €15,000 (£9,240) a day.

"Mr Campion must obey the law like anyone else," Mr Delanoe said. "If he doesn't, it will be the security forces that enforce the law. My position is clear and serene, but determined: I like la grande roue, I'd like it to stay in Paris, but not where it is."

Mr Campion said he had been offered no suitable alternative sites and that his contract foresaw a third year to allow him to recoup his £4m investment.

"I've seen many pitched battles in my time," he threatened. "One time I had to have 27 stitches to the head, another time it was a broken arm and another time a dislocated shoulder. I've never given in, and they would do very well to remember that."

He has assembled a support committee headed by singer Carlos. "It's beautiful," he said. "It's a fantastic point of light at the end of the most glorious avenue in the world."

Mr Campion hopes the wheel will emulate the Eiffel tower, which was meant to come down after the Universal Exhibition of 1889, but stayed put thanks to popular demand.