EIFFEL TOWER “HEADING FOR DISASTER”
In Paris, strikers among the Eiffel Tower’s 360-strong workforce said they had walked out for one day on December 27 to protest against “unrealistic management” with “over-ambitious, impossible-to-achieve” business goals.
“The Eiffel Tower is an old lady. It’s 130 years old. Some of the lifts date back to 1899. There’s a lot of work (to be done),” the workers said.
They added that managers’ projections of 7.4 million visitors per year were unrealistic – the tower hosted 5.9 million in 2022 – leaving a funding gap that workers believe has management firm SETE “heading for disaster”.
But SETE boss Jean-Francois Martins said the Eiffel Tower was “in good economic shape”, even after the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation hit renovation costs.
He said he believed workers fear jobs could be cut to make up for pandemic-era losses.
Italian tourist Alessandro Monaco, 40, was disappointed.
“We were quite stunned to see there was a strike. It’s a real shame not to be able to visit today,” he told AFP on the day of the stoppage last week.
Others were more sanguine.
“The important thing is to see it, strike or no strike,” said 40-year-old French visitor Marie-Christine Riviere.
While the Eiffel Tower strike on December 27 lasted for just one day, “if the situation continues … the Eiffel Tower will be closed during the Olympic Games period” in July-August, worker representatives warned.
Source: CNA
