GTA 6 Paris Banner Controversy
Grand Theft Auto 6 is slated to launch in just a few weeks on PS5 and Xbox. As the November 19 release approaches, Rockstar has intensified its marketing with new trailers, cover stories and merchandise, while murals and banners pop up worldwide. In Paris, a massive GTA 6 banner is notable for missing guns.
Over the past fortnight, people online have been documenting the progress on a massive banner advertisement for Grand Theft Auto 6 being attached to one of the Les Mercuriales towers in Paris, France. And on Thursday, reports confirmed the installation was completed, recreating the GTA 6 cover art on the building’s façade. Yet fans noted that the artwork had been altered to omit two weapons.
©Rockstar Games / Reddit / Kotaku
Looking at the side‑by‑side images, Lucia’s weapon disappears from the upper middle panel, while the lower middle panel no longer shows the assault rifle that originally flanked her. In the first case the hand and gun are gone; in the second the hand remains raised but the gun is absent.
Similar banners and murals have appeared across the United States, for example in New York City, have artwork featuring guns.
In Paris, however, the tower’s owners are reluctant to display giant guns on their building, even though they accept the payment for promoting a game that features firearms. It may reflect local advertising rules, or simply a matter of taste. Either way, the situation feels a bit absurd.