One of the top tourist attractions of the globe, the Eiffel Tower, was closed on Wednesday after staff went on strike.
Paris: Tourists visiting Paris were left disappointed as one of the world’s prime tourist attractions – Eiffel Tower – was closed on Wednesday due to a strike by the staff managing it, according to a report by the news agency Agence France-Presse. According to General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union, the strike was conducted on the 100th anniversary of the death of engineer Gustave Eiffel, who built one of the prime tourist attractions of the world. The protest was about “the current way it is managed”. It said the operator of the Eiffel Tower, Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), was “headed for disaster”.
The Union has accused the SETE of managing it according to a business model that was “too ambitious and unsustainable”. It also accused the management of underestimating construction costs while having an inflated estimate of future visitor numbers.
Considering visitors disappointment, the SETE apologised and advised electronic tickets holders to check their mails for more information on their booking.
As per the official website, as many as seven million visitors visit the Eiffel Tower every year and around three-quarters of them are foreigners. The CGT stated that the SETE was projecting its future budget on 7.4 million annual visitors every year, a figure that has never been achieved. Despite the sharp drop on visitors during the Coronavirus pandemic, due to travel restriction, the count recovered to 5.9 million visitors in 2022.
However, visitors hoped to visit the 1,083-feet structure expressed their frustration when saw the closed sign at the entry.
“We came here this morning to visit this magnificent Eiffel Tower,” AFP quoted an Italian tourist as saying.
“We were gobsmacked to see that there was a strike, that was a bit tough. It’s a real pity,” he said.
Gustave Eiffel
Gustave Eiffel, who build the iconic structure, died at the age of 91 on December 27, 1923. He was always remembered for his remarkable creativity. Notably, Eiffel designed also designed hundreds of other landmarks across the world but is famous for the Eiffel Tower. He became popular as a ailway bridges. He used his metal wizardry to build lighthouses in Finland and Madagascar, Pest railway station in Hungary, the structure of the Saigon Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City and the iron framework of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
