The Eiffel Tower, one of the most visited tourist places in the world, closed on Monday after a staff strike in protest for the way in which the Parisian monument is managed financially. He caused great disappointment to the crowds below.
The strike is known as Paris prepares to host the Olympic Games 2024which begin on July 26 and will feature the metal of the tower on the winners’ medals.
The moment of the protest in Paris
The Visitors stood outside the barriers of the tower enclosure in front of a giant screen announcing the strike.
“It’s a real shame, because we only come for three days and we won’t be able to go up.”said Nelson Navarro, who arrived from Norfolk, England.
Vito Santos, from Canada, had planned to visit the monument again 15 years after their honeymoon and teach it to your children. “It’s disappointing…the plan was to come here very early to get a ticket as soon as possible. However, it was a surprise for us, they are on strike here so we can’t make the tour,” he said.
Why they strike at the Eiffel Tower
The unions affirm that the Paris City Council, owner of 99% of the company that oversees the tower, Societe d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), you are underestimating the cost of maintenance and repairs of the monument planned before the Olympic Games.
This, in turn, pcould result in lax maintenance work and endanger visitors, they hold. It is the second time this year that staff have gone on strike for the same reason.
The strike was decided by the two unions of the monument staff in the French capital, CGT and FO, to “denounce the current management” that is leading SETE, the company that operates the tower, “to the most difficult situation.” Both unions mainly target the Paris city council, the company’s majority shareholder, which, according to them, imposes an “unsustainable” business model due to an imbalance between income and expenses, exacerbated by the covid-19 crisis.
The 324 meter high wrought iron tower, Built by Gustave Eiffel at the end of the 19th century, it receives about six million visitors a year.
Tourists are “devastated” by the closure of the Eiffel Tower due to strike
The closure of the Eiffel Tower due to a strike called by the management of the place left some visitors to France “desolate” from afar to see one of the greatest tourist attractions in the world.
“We would have changed the date if we had known there was a problem with the workers,” said Gabriel Mimica, a 42-year-old Argentine who said he was “surprised” by the strike. “We came with all the expectations and excitement of seeing the tower, we got out of the taxi and nothing, we saw the sign” which reported the closure, explained the man, who came to Paris for the first time with his family.
Courtney Scott, traveling with her partner, said she was “devastated.” “We left our baby at home to allow ourselves this romantic getaway and we can’t go up,” lamented this 30-year-old Irishwoman.
The tower will probably remain closed throughout Monday, and a new general assembly is expected to decide on Tuesday whether or not to continue the strike.
Source: Ambito
