The Eiffel Tower, one of the world’s top tourist attractions, remained closed for a second straight day Tuesday as staff extended a strike over the monument’s financing.
French Economy and Industry minister Emmanuel Macron is pictured during a press conference following a meeting amid a crisis in France’s agricultural sector in Paris on February 8, 2016. French farmers have carried out a string of demonstrations for nearly two weeks against the falling prices of their products, demanding structural measures to strengthen price rates. / AFP / PATRICK KOVARIK (Photo credit should read PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images)
There was every chance that the monument would also stay shuttered on Wednesday, a union representative told AFP.
The strike started Monday in protest over the way the monument is managed financially. The tower’s operator, SETE, has advised ticket holders to check its website before showing up or to postpone their visit. E-ticket holders were asked to check their e-mails for further information.
Ticketholders will be reimbursed, the operator said.
The stoppage is the second strike at the Eiffel Tower within two months for the same reason.
Unions have criticised operator SETE for its business model which they say is based on an inflated estimate of future visitor numbers while under-estimating construction costs.
They also want the city of Paris to stump up more funds to keep the landmark in good repair.
The Eiffel Tower — Paris’s most famous landmark — attracts nearly seven million visitors a year, around three-quarters of them foreigners, according to its website.
During the Covid pandemic numbers dropped sharply due to closures and travel restrictions, but recovered to 5.9 million in 2022. Last year, it attracted 6.3 million visitors.
Visitor numbers to Paris are expected to swell this summer as the French capital hosts the Olympic Games. In a joint statement Monday, the CGT and FO unions called on the city of Paris “to be reasonable with their financial demands to ensure the survival of the monument and the company operating it”.
Alexandre Leborgne, a representative for the hard-left CGT labour union, told AFP that city hall, which is the majority owner of the monument, “refuses to negotiate for now”.
Another CGT representative, Stephane Dieu, said there was “no chance of a solution overnight” to Wednesday.
City officials “refuse to even meet with us”, Dieu said.
