(Paris) The Eiffel Tower is heading towards its sixth consecutive day of strike on Saturday, approaching the record in its recent history, after the failure of a first round of negotiations between management and unions, dissatisfied with management of the site.
Friday on the fifth day of the social conflict, “the general staff meeting voted to renew the strike”, confirmed in a press release the inter-union made up of the CGT and FO.
A little earlier, the CGT union delegate, Stéphane Dieu, had announced to AFP the continuation of the movement, because the “only progress” obtained on Thursday was “that the town hall has come to the negotiating table”.
But the inter-union expects above all “concrete progress on the general economic model” rather than “attempts by (the) management to divert the heart of the fight to salary issues, which the employees refuse”, she writes.
Thursday, during a meeting deemed “constructive” by Jean-François Martins, the president of the operating company (SETE), management mentioned an agreement “signed within fifteen days” on the subject of “conditions of employment and remuneration” of employees.
“We refused, that was not the subject,” Stéphane Dieu retorted on Friday. The inter-union did not make any wage demands and said it was only fighting against the “untenable” economic model imposed by the town hall.
On this subject, management proposed “the creation of a permanent monitoring body” of the financial trajectory “in order to strengthen dialogue with the City” of Paris.
The inter-union asks it to “explain the practical arrangements and room for maneuver” of this future body “in the event of a slippage in the economic model”, replies Stéphane Dieu.
A new general assembly must be held on Saturday morning, which implies, unless there is major progress between now and then, a sixth day of closure consecutive to the opening time of the monument, visited on weekends by around 20,000 visitors per day.
If it were to continue beyond Sunday afternoon, this strike would be the longest in the recent history of the tower. In the fall of 1998, the monument remained closed for six and a half days.
The ongoing conflict had already led to its closure on December 27, the hundredth anniversary of the disappearance of its architect Gustave Eiffel.
Slate
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 130 million euros in shortfalls. win during the two years of health crisis (2020 and 2021).
To cope, SETE was recapitalized to the tune of 60 million euros in 2021. But to the loss of revenue was added an equivalent slate – around 130 million euros – of additional costs of renovation work, mainly linked to the current painting campaign, complicated by the discovery of traces of lead.
To adapt the public service delegation contract, started in 2017, to these new parameters, management and the town hall are preparing an amendment which must be submitted in May to the Paris Council.
On Thursday, management communicated the main directions: entry prices increased by 20%, contractual investment plan increased by 145 million euros and contract extended by one year – 2031 instead of 2030 – “in order to smooth investments and their depreciation.
As for the fee paid by the SETE to the town hall, if it gradually increases from 8 to 50 million euros – something the unions criticize – the amendment provides for a “downward revision of the calculation methods” which will lead to ultimately “an effort” of 51 million euros from the town hall, details the SETE.
But not enough to convince the unions who have not yet received “any precise written proposal”, deplores Stéphane Dieu.
Thursday evening, the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, main opponent of the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, pleaded for the Eiffel Tower to be classified as a historic monument, which according to her would allow the State, “if necessary, to initiate office work”.