Rachida Dati pleaded on Wednesday February 21 for the Eiffel Tower to be classified as a historic monument, which according to her should allow the State
“if necessary to undertake work automatically”
.
“Today the #Eiffel Tower does not have sufficient protection
,” wrote the Minister of Culture on historic monuments since 1964, which offers a lower level of protection.
Fourth day of strike
The process can be launched by the City of Paris, owner of the monument, but also by the services of the prefecture or even the Ministry of Culture itself.
“I do not understand what is stopping the Mayor of #Paris from initiating this approach
,” writes Rachida Dati, also mayor of the 7th arrondissement – that of the Eiffel Tower – and main opponent of Anne Hildalgo in the capital.
The minister published a copy of a letter from February 2022 in which she had pleaded with Paris town hall for the entire Champ de Mars, including the Eiffel Tower, to be classified as a historic monument.
She raised the subject after four days of the tower being closed to tourists, due to a strike within the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (Sete).
The inter-union association at the operator criticizes the town hall, led by the socialist Anne Hidalgo, for unsustainable financial management and shortcomings in the maintenance of the monument.
Repaint the tower “every 7 years”
While its designer Gustave Eiffel recommended, to avoid rusting of the iron, repainting the tower
“every seven years”
, the tower has not undergone a complete repainting since 2010. A renovation campaign launched in 2019 is not still come to an end due to the Covid-19 pandemic and unforeseen additional costs after the discovery of traces of lead.
Rachida Dati, a few days after her arrival at the ministry on January 12, confirmed that she was still a candidate to succeed Anne Hidalgo as mayor of Paris in 2026.