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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
Visitors to the Eiffel Tower were greeted with a 'closed' sign on Monday (February 19) after workers at the iconic Paris landmark went on strike.
On the monument's website, Tower operator SETE told visitors with e-tickets to "check their email" and apologized for "the inconvenience."
Staff were protesting at what they believe is the financial mismanagement of the 'Iron Lady' and they are demanding a "coherent plan for the financial and economic future of the tower."
A sign outside the Eiffel Tower informing visitors of the strike. /Sarah Meyssonnier/reuters
At issue is a plan by the City of Paris - which owns 99 percent of SETE - to increase the annual licensing fee from $17 million to $54 million.
Unions representing Tower workers have criticized the plan, saying it overestimates the number of expected visitors to the monument and underestimates maintenance costs ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games.
The unions said the Tower's budget was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, when visitor numbers and revenues plunged.
"Visitors might suffer, we are very sorry, but it is to guarantee the best quality for visitors for the future," CGT union delegate Stéphane Dieu told France Info radio on Monday.
Pedestrians take a picture next to the Eiffel Tower, by a board informing visitors that the monument is closed. /Kiran Ridley/AFP
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The 135-year-old Eiffel Tower is the most famous landmark in Paris, with roughly 6 million visitors a year. But the union said the licensing fee increase is based on 7.4 million people visiting the monument this year.
And while the number of people visiting Paris is expected to spike this summer when the city hosts the Games, unions are doubtful it will reach the target underpinning the increase.
The unions have threatened that the strike could be extended.
Monday's walkout is the second in as many months over the same issue. In December, workers held a one-day demonstration on the 100th anniversary of the death of Gustave Eiffel, the civil engineer behind the Tower's construction.
At the time, workers unions warned that the Eiffel Tower may not be open during the Olympics because of a financial shortall in maintenance costs.
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