Louvre Pyramid of an Egyptian death symbol in the middle of Paris. Meanwhile, political critics referred to the structure as "Pharaoh Francois' Pyramid". Many still continue to feel the harsh modernism of the edifice is out of place. During the design phase, there was a proposal that the design include a spire on the pyramid to simplify window washing. Pei objected, however, and this proposal was eliminated. It has been claimed by some that the glass panes in the Louvre Pyramid number exactly 666, "the number of the beast", often associated with Satan. Dominique Stezepfandt's book "François Mitterrand, Grand Architecte de l'Univers"
Paris in the Belle Époque pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, who made the first aircraft flight in Paris in 1906. The "Santos watch" went on sale in 1911 and was a huge success for the company. The industry of mass tourism and large luxury hotels had arrived in Paris under Napoleon III, driven by new railroads and the huge crowds that had come for the first international expositions. The expositions and the crowds grew even larger during the "Belle Époque"; twenty-three million visitors came to Paris for the 1889 exposition, and the 1900 exposition welcomed forty-eight million visitors. The Grand Hôtel du Louvre, built for the universal