The Eiffel Tower reopened on Sunday, February 25 after a six-day closure due to a personnel strike.
SETE, the operator of the Eiffel Tower, said in a statement reported by The Associated Press that it has reached an agreement with the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union (which was representing the Tower’s workers) on a €380 million (approximately $412 million) investment by 2031. SETE, according to The Guardian, said, the parties “will regularly monitor the company’s business model, investment in works and revenue through a body that will meet every six months.”
Separately, France’s minister of culture Rachida Dati recently suggested last week that the tower be classified as a historical monument to allow the state to help fund works.
SETE and the CGT union have also begun negotiating salary raises, which are expected to be finalized in March.
Workers had demanded both new investments in the 1,083-foot, 134-year-old Parisian landmark, which was reportedly overdue for maintenance, as well as a salary increase in proportion to the incoming revenue from ticket sales.
The Eiffel Tower was also closed for one day in December on the 100th anniversary of the death of its designer, Gustave Eiffel.
The Tower is typically open 365 days a year and receives upwards of 7 million visitors annually—with about three-quarters of those foreign visitors. This summer, the landmark will be heavily featured in the Summer Olympic Games, held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, and the following Paralympics. Paris is expecting over 3 million visitors, spending upward of €4 billion, during the Games.
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