France’s famed Eiffel Tower has been closed for a fourth day as employees continue their strike over the monument’s management.
Union representatives were scheduled to meet with the tower’s operator (SETE) management.
The strike at one of the world’s most well-known tourist destinations is the second in two months in response to what unions claim is insufficient investment.
SETE has recommended ticket holders check the website before arriving or to reschedule their visit. E-ticket holders were directed to check their e-mails for additional information. The operator announced that ticket holders would be refunded.
Stephane Dieu of the CGT union, which represents many of the Eiffel Tower’s staff, stated that the strikers want to express their demands to city officials and negotiate an arrangement with the Tower’s owner “so that everything runs smoothly this summer.”
“The last thing we want is to find ourselves in a stalemate that would, unfortunately, lead to us being closed for part of the Olympic Games,” Added Stephanie.
Union leaders have regularly criticized the tower operator’s economic strategy, claiming it is based on an exaggerated projection of future visitor numbers at the expense of maintenance costs and staff salaries. Unions have also urged the Mayor of Paris to be “reasonable in their financial demands to ensure the survival of the monument and the company operating it.”
Their main complaint is that the city council charges the Eiffel Tower’s operator an excessive leasing cost, which deprives cash for vital repair work.
During the Covid epidemic in 2020 and 2021, the Eiffel Tower experienced a revenue shortage of around $130 million (120 million euros).
Its operator has recently secured a recapitalization of $65 million (60 million euros), which unions argue is insufficient given the need for major maintenance work, including a new paint job.
Visitors to the Eiffel Tower fell drastically during COVID-19 because of closures and travel restrictions but returned to 5.9 million in 2022 and 6.3 million last year.
