The Eiffel Tower has lost between €1 to 2 million in takings during a six-day closure caused by an employee strike.
The iconic Parisian landmark was shut for the duration of the school holidays in France, just a few months ahead of the Olympic Games. Now, an estimated 100,000 visitors (around 15,000 to 20,000 daily) have not been able to ascend the monument due to the prolonged strike organised by the CGT and FO trade unions.
On Saturday, the inter-union group called off one of the longest strikes in recent memory, and the Eiffel Tower was reopened on Sunday.
The post-strike agreement envisages involving employees in monitoring the economic model and site works. Meetings within this body will be held every six months and these will particularly oversee the amendment to the contract between the Sete organisation, the monument's operator, and the Paris city council, under a public service delegation scheme.
The amendment is set to be submitted to the Paris council in May. It forecasts a 20% increase in admission fees, a return to financial balance "by 2025", and an additional investment of €145 million for maintenance works on the monument. This includes the continued operation to completely repaint the tower, inaugurated 135 years ago.
The financial balance of the Eiffel Tower, which returned to stronger visitor numbers in 2023 than it had pre-pandemic, with 6.3 million visitors, has been weakened by a shortfall of around €130 million during the two years of the Covid-19 health crisis (2020 and 2021).
