The strike of the Eiffel Tower's employees persisted into Tuesday, marking a second successive day during which Paris's most iconic attraction remained closed.
Trade unions are protesting against the economic management of the monument while the Paris City Council, which is the main shareholder of the operating company Société d’exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), is "currently unwilling to negotiate," said the CGT union to AFP news agency.
The closure on Monday caught thousands of visitors, mostly foreigners, by surprise.
According to a 2023 summary, foreign tourists constitute eighty percent of the Eiffel Tower's visitors.
FIVE MONTHS PRIOR TO THE PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES (JULY 26 - AUGUST 11), THE UNIONS ARE DEMANDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL CHANGE WHAT THEY CALL AN "UNSUSTAINABLE" MODEL FOR SETE. They accuse the city hall of pursuing profits "at all costs and in the short term," and are urging the leadership to instead "ensure the long-term future of the monument and the company that manages it."
The last strike at the Eiffel Tower was on December 27, on the hundredth anniversary of the death of the tower's designer, Gustave Eiffel. The financial equilibrium of the Eiffel Tower which welcomed more visitors in 2023, drawing 6.3 million, than before the
COVID-19 pandemic has still not recovered from the revenue loss of 120 million euros recorded during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
To improve the situation, SETE was recapitalized with 60 million euros in 2021, but the revenue shortfall, in addition to an extra 130 million euros in costs due to the ongoing painting works on the Eiffel Tower, have further exacerbated financial strain.