Employees of the Eiffel Tower Go on Strike Again
Once again, the employees of the Eiffel Tower have gone on strike for the fifth day in a row. The CGT has assured that the monument will remain closed this Friday, February 23rd.
The Eiffel Tower will remain closed on Friday, February 23rd, its fifth consecutive day of closure, as confirmed by the CGT union delegate on Friday morning to AFP. The union is meeting to decide on the next steps of the strike.
Stéphane Dieu, a member of the union, assured that the Eiffel Tower will not open on Friday, and the union is waiting for written confirmation from the City, the owner of the monument and the largest stakeholder of the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (Sete).
If the strike were to continue beyond Sunday afternoon, it would be the longest in the recent history of the tower, which has been regularly affected by labor disputes. In the fall of 1998, the Eiffel Tower remained closed for six and a half days.
Negotiations Opened on Thursday
The unions (CGT and FO) met on Friday morning to decide on the next steps of the strike, following the opening of negotiations on Thursday and a meeting that was labeled as “constructive” by Sete’s president Jean-Francois Martins.
The employees of Paris’ most famous tourist site are criticizing their employer for its financial management and are also blaming the city for demanding an excessive fee, which they argue is impacting the budget for maintenance and ultimately, recruitment and salaries.
This strike has prevented thousands of tourists, mostly foreigners, from visiting since Monday.
On Thursday, Sete proposed “the creation of a permanent monitoring body” to strengthen dialogue with the City of Paris regarding financial trajectory. Additionally, “an agreement will be signed within fifteen days” on the “employment and remuneration conditions” for the employees, as asserted by Sete.
An “Unsustainable” Economic Model
Despite not initially having wage demands, the employees are fighting against the “unsustainable” economic model imposed by the city.
This conflict, which had already led to the closure of the monument on December 27th, the 100th anniversary of the architect Gustave Eiffel’s death, is occurring during the winter school holidays, and five months before the Olympics (July 26 – August 11).
The economic balance of the Eiffel Tower, which had regained a visitor count higher than pre-Covid levels in 2023, with 6.3 million visitors, was weakened by a loss of around 130 million euros during the two years of the pandemic (2020 and 2021).
