The enigmatic French street artist known only as “Invader” has once again left his mark on Paris, this time in celebration of the Olympics.
Since the 1990s, Invader has been adorning Parisian walls with his distinctive mosaics, typically working under the cover of night and without official permission. He has earned a reputation as France’s most international, pervasive, and fascinating contemporary street artist. His creations are scattered throughout the City of Light, turning their discovery into a delightful hunt for his fans.
Now, there’s a new Olympic-themed mosaic for enthusiasts to find.
Sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday, Invader installed the mosaic on a wall along one of the River Seine’s embankments. The artwork, crafted from tiles, depicts one of his iconic Space Invader figures in motion. The colors used in the mosaic mirror the blue hues that Paris Games organizers have employed to decorate the city for the Olympics.
A representative for the artist, who also remains anonymous, conveyed Invader’s intentions via email to the media: “Invader told me to say that he wanted to celebrate the Olympics in Paris with this mosaic. The Space Invader is running and he wears some of the colors of the Olympics signage.”
Fans of the artist can utilize his app, “Flash Invaders,” to photograph his works whenever they find them.
The app rewards users with points for each mosaic they “flash.” The more artworks they discover, the more points they accumulate.
The app, with nearly 400,000 players, is highly addictive.
The new mosaic marks the 1,512th piece that Invader has affixed in Paris. Players earn 50 points for flashing it with the app. Since the first recorded mosaic of a blue Space Invader appeared on a Paris street in 1998, labeled PA_01, Invader’s creations have spread globally. His works now exceed 4,000 mosaics in cities and towns across every continent except Antarctica.
On Instagram, Invader posted a photo of the new mosaic on Wednesday, accompanied by the caption “Special Olympic Games Paris 2024,” alongside a jogger passing by.
The artist’s photo and video posts alerted fans to the new piece, leading a small group of enthusiasts to quickly locate, photograph, and admire the work using the app.
Among the first to find and flash it was André Lavigne, a 64-year-old retired chemical engineer, who is ranked in the top 100 players on the app, having discovered 2,718 of Invader’s works in France and abroad.
In just a few hours, the new piece had already generated significant interest.
“I’ve seen many people coming and flashing and asking, ‘Is it a new one?’ And I say, ‘Yes, it was put up last night.’ (They reply) ‘Oh, well, that’s extraordinary,’” Lavigne said.
Another fan, Gema Calero, arrived on her bike and celebrated with a fist pump after earning her 50 points.
“It’s all fresh, it still smells of glue,” she remarked.
Calero believes that the hunt for Invader’s works has given her a new perspective on Paris and the importance of observing her surroundings.
“It allows you to look at life differently. You hunt around. You look up a little bit. Because normally, when we walk, we look at what’s in front of us,” she said. “It’s super.”

Like the British street artist Banksy, with whom he is often compared, Invader maintains a strict veil of anonymity and operates on the fringes of legality. He appears, installs his artwork, and vanishes into the night, leaving behind his signature pixelated mosaics made primarily from small ceramic and glass tiles.
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Most of his pieces resemble the aliens from the Space Invaders arcade game. Others are more intricate, such as still lifes of fruit or portraits of Lou Reed and Andy Warhol in New York. Some mosaics reference pop culture icons like Spiderman, Star Wars, Bugs Bunny, Ninja Turtles, and pizza.