Paris: the Eiffel Tower closed for a third consecutive day due to the strike

Europe 1 with AFP 12:57 p.m., February 21, 2024

The Eiffel Tower will remain closed on Wednesday for the third consecutive day due to the strike by employees of its operating company (Sete), who criticize it for its financial management, the two unions representing staff confirmed to AFP. “We are determined, and we have the impression that they are taking it lightly,” summarizes the FO union representative, Nada Bzioui, on the third day of a bogged down social conflict between management and the two unions, the CGT. and FO.

Negotiations at a standstill

“And it would surprise me if it was open tomorrow” Thursday, says Ms. Bzioui. This conflict, which had already led to the closure of the Iron Lady on December 27, the hundredth anniversary of the disappearance of Gustave Eiffel, occurs in the middle of the winter school holidays and five months before the Olympic Games (July 26 - August 11). ). On Tuesday, the negotiations came to an end, the request of the two unions to obtain an interlocutor at the town hall, ultra-majority shareholder (99%) of Sete, not having been heard.

The representatives of the approximately 360 employees of the Iron Lady also ask to be able to consult the amendment to the public service delegation contract (DSP) which runs until 2030, the subject of their fundamental dissatisfaction. The amendment, which provides for a 20% increase in ticket prices, must be validated in May by the Paris Council. The two points of contention are the fee paid by Sete to the town hall and the works budget for the rest of the DSP. The unions criticize the town hall for being too greedy with an "exponential increase in its fees, from 8 to 50 million euros per year", when management assures that it will drop by 51 million compared to the initial contract.

A financial balance weakened by the health crisis

According to Nada Bzioui, management explained that it "will not touch the fee because the town hall needs it, nor the PCI (Contractual Investment Plan) because we cannot put in extra money" . The economic balance of the Eiffel Tower, which in 2023 returned to higher attendance than it was before Covid-19, with 6.3 million visitors, was weakened by some 120 million euros in shortfalls. win during the two years of health crisis (2020 and 2021).

To cope, Sete was recapitalized to the tune of 60 million euros in 2021. But to the loss of revenue was added an equivalent additional bill - around 130 million euros - for additional costs of renovation work, mainly linked to the current painting campaign, complicated by the discovery of traces of lead.