Eiffel Tower closes as staff go on strike
27 Dec 2023 09:30pm
A photo taken through a glass panel shows a digital billboard displaying a message reading "Due to a strike, Eiffel Tower closed, Esplanade is open, we apologise" at the Eiffel Tower in Paris on March 7, 2023, during a nationwide day of strikes and protests called by unions over the government's proposed pensions reform. The Eiffel Tower is closed to the public on Dec 27, 2023 due to strike action. - (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)
PARIS - The Eiffel Tower, one of the world's prime tourist attractions, was closed Wednesday after staff went on strike, the tower's operator said.
The strike on the 100th anniversary of the death of engineer Gustave Eiffel, who built the tower, 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.
SETE apologised to visitors, advising anyone with electronic tickets for Wednesday "to check their email".
The Eiffel Tower, Paris's most famous landmark, attracts nearly seven million visitors a year, around three-quarters of them foreigners.
Eiffel died on Dec 27, 1923, at the age of 91. - AFP
