Paris’ Eiffel Tower shut as workers strike on 100th anniversary of founder’s death
- The strike was to protest ‘the current way it is managed’, the hard-left CGT union said in a statement
- One of the world’s most-visited sites, the Eiffel Tower is typically open 365 days a year
The Eiffel Tower was shut down to visitors on Wednesday because of a strike over contract negotiations, the day the Paris monument marks 100 years since the death of its creator, Gustave Eiffel.
The strike was to protest “the current way it is managed”, the hard-left CGT union said in a statement.
The tower’s operator SETE was “headed for disaster”, it said.
The CGT said management was running the Eiffel Tower according to a business model that was “too ambitious and unsustainable” and said that was based on an inflated estimate of future visitor numbers, while underestimating construction costs.
SETE apologised to visitors, advising anyone with electronic tickets for Wednesday “to check their email” for more information on their booking.
Tourists can still access the glass-enclosed esplanade beneath the tower, but access to the 300-metre (984-foot) landmark itself is closed until further notice, according to an Eiffel Tower spokesperson.