Union says operating company is ‘heading for disaster’ with budget based on unrealistic future visitor numbers

The Eiffel Tower was closed to the public on Wednesday after staff went on strike on the 100th anniversary of the death of its creator, Gustave Eiffel.

Disappointed tourists who had booked tickets to access the 134-year-old monument were told it was shut and they would be contacted by email.

The powerful CGT union said the industrial action taking place ahead of contract negotiations with City Hall, which owns the tower, was in protest over “the current way it is managed”.

Union leaders claim the operating company, SETE, is “heading for disaster” because its business model is “too ambitious and unsustainable” and based on an over-optimistic estimate of future revenue from ticket sales and an underestimation of spiralling maintenance and repair costs.