(Paris) Employees of the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (SETE) renewed their strike on Thursday for a fourth consecutive day, the unions told AFP.
Employees of the most famous tourist site in Paris criticize their employer for its financial management, and also blame the capital’s town hall, the majority shareholder. A meeting is planned for the beginning of the afternoon between the unions and management.
This movement has deprived the thousands of tourists, mostly foreigners, who flock there every day, of visits since Monday.
In the days preceding the closure, the “Iron Lady” had welcomed between 17,000 and 20,000 visitors per day, union delegate Nada Bzioui told AFP.
The four days of closure therefore represent a potential loss of around 70,000 entries. Management has not communicated about the cancellations caused by the social movement.
This conflict, which had already led to the closure of the monument on December 27, the hundredth anniversary of the disappearance of Gustave Eiffel, occurs in the middle of the winter school holidays in France and five months before the Olympic Games (July 26-August 11). .
The economic balance of the Eiffel Tower, which in 2023 returned to higher attendance than it was before COVID-19, with 6.3 million visitors, was weakened by some 120 million euros in shortfalls. win during the two years of health crisis (2020 and 2021).