PARIS | The Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris and one of the most visited monuments in the world, was closed to the public on Wednesday during the tourist season after a strike by its employees.
The employees of the Eiffel Tower decided to hold this one-day strike, organized on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the death of the engineer Gustave Eiffel, to denounce the management of the emblematic monument “that leads straight ahead”. [sa société d’exploitation] in the wall,” says the CGT union press release.
“The Eiffel Tower is an old lady. She is 130 years old. Some elevators date back to 1899. Extensive maintenance, renovation and monument protection work is required and the cost of this is “understated”, Stéphane Dieu, CGT union delegate, told AFPTV opposite the Eiffel Tower.
AFP
On the other hand, the striking employees point out in a press release that “revenue was overestimated based on the annual visitor target of 7.4 million visitors,” while these values were “never achieved.” The union had called for a strike that day.
The operating company employs almost 360 people who, as part of a public service contract with the Paris City Hall, ensure the maintenance, operation and revitalization of the monument.
“The Eiffel Tower is doing well economically,” assured the president of the operating company (SETE), Jean-François Martins.
This is despite three years of the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in labor costs, particularly due to inflation and tightening regulations on lead use, he noted.
This strike movement, according to Martins, reflects the “impatience” of employees who are demanding proposals from the city of Paris to adapt the economic model of the tower by 2030, but above all their “concern” about being described as adapting variable to cover the losses during the to cushion the pandemic.
“Hard Hit”
The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in 1889 on the occasion of the Paris World Exhibition and quickly became a symbol of the capital and France. According to the operating company, it had almost 5.9 million visitors last year, a record since 2019 and the pandemic.
However, on Wednesday, access to Monument Square remained open and free and, like every day of the year, was visited by tourists fascinated by the Iron Lady.
Allessandro Monaco, a 40-year-old Italian, was one of those who would have liked to go to the top floor and enjoy the panoramic views.
“We were a little stunned when we saw there was a strike. It was a hard blow. A big city like Paris with all these tourists… It's a real shame not to be able to visit it today,” he told AFPTV.
Others could be satisfied with the viewing, like Marie-Christine Rivière, 40, a mutual advisor from the south of France: “It's not a big disappointment. The main thing is that we can see whether there is a strike or not.”
The social movement was only planned for one day as the strikers “did not want to have a lasting impact on visitors during this festive period”.
“But if the situation continues and the city refuses to review its unrealistic management model, the Eiffel Tower will be closed during the Olympic Games (July 26 to August 11),” they threatened.
In the spring, strike movements forced the Eiffel Tower to close for ten days during the mobilization against pension reform.