Eiffel Tower tourists turned away in Paris over strike; 2nd day of disruptions expected
Visitors to one of the world's most iconic landmarks were disappointed to arrive only to find signs announcing the closure
Tourists in Paris were turned away from the city's most famous landmark on Monday and seem unlikely to be able to return on Tuesday.
Strikes closed the Eiffel Tower as a dispute over the management of the Parisian icon caused it to shutter for the second time in two months, according to French newspaper Le Monde.
Unions for the striking workers told the Agence France-Presse wire service that the action could be extended. By 3 a.m. Tuesday in Paris, the official Eiffel Tower website listed that visits to the landmark also would be disrupted on Tuesday.
Union leaders have been critical of site operators SETE, which is owned by the City of Paris, saying that they have overestimated the amount of future visitors and underestimate maintenance costs, according to Le Monde.
"They are giving priority to short-term benefits over long-term conservation of the monument and the well-being of the company we are working for," Stephane Dieu of the CGT union, which represents a large number of the Eiffel Tower’s employees, told the Associated Press.
Eiffel Tower visitors disappointed
Visitors to the Eiffel Tower were greeted by a sign announcing the closure, and worker made signs announcing the strike.
"Knowing that I can’t come to the tower today is very, very disappointing," Morgan McKenny, an American living in Germany and celebrating her birthday in Paris told the Associated Press. "I appreciate the workers wanting to keep the tower going for the next few hundred years."
Multiple visitors left the landmark diappointed.
"It’s a real shame, really, because we come just for three days, and we’re not going to be able to get up,” Nelson Navarro, from Norfolk, England, told Rueters.
The 300-meter (984-foot) tower sees about six million visitors a year, according to Reuters.