The Eiffel Tower, one of Paris’ most iconic landmarks, is closed to the public due to a labor strike. This is a result of a social movement among staff employed at the tower, forcing visitors to stay away for the day. While the tower itself is inaccessible, the esplanade is still open to the public. Those holding tickets for the day are being advised to check their email for further instructions.
The timing of the strike is significant, as December 27, 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of engineer Gustave Eiffel. Employees have chosen to strike for a single day to “denounce the current management that is leading the Sete (the company that operates the Eiffel Tower) straight into the wall,” according to a press release from the CGT union.
The union is highly critical of “an overly ambitious and unsustainable economic model” due to “underestimation of the monument’s construction budgets as well as overestimation of revenue based on annual visitation goals of 7.4 million visitors,” figures that “have never been achieved.”
In 2022, the Eiffel Tower welcomed nearly 5.9 million visitors, a record since 2019 and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The union has also raised concerns about the significant increase in maintenance and restoration costs of the monument, estimating the necessary works to amount to €352 million, a €128 million increase since 2019.
Built in 1889 for the Paris Universal Exhibition, the Eiffel Tower quickly became a symbol of France and its capital.
A special sound and light concert by French DJ Michaël Canitrot, recorded on the tower’s first floor for an hour to honor Gustave Eiffel, will be broadcast on social media tonight at 9 pm and then on CSTAR at 10:50 pm.
French President Emmanuel Macron also paid tribute to the famous engineer in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s been 100 years since Gustave Eiffel passed away. But his legacy lives on,” he wrote, citing the dome of the Nice Observatory, the framework of the Statue of Liberty, as well as “train stations, hangars and galleries, bridges, viaducts, and lighthouses.”
