And five!
Due to lack of agreement with management, the strike continues this Friday at the Eiffel Tower.
Since Monday February 19, it has been impossible for thousands of visitors to access the most famous monument in Paris.
So many disappointed curious people – especially when they come from abroad – and unsold tickets for Sete, the Eiffel Tower operating company of which Paris town hall owns 99%.
An economic pressure all the stronger since the Iron Lady would not roll in gold, according to the strikers.
This is also their main objective of their mobilization: to lift the veil on the bad accounts of the monument.
Led by the CGT and Force Ouvrière, the employees of the Iron Lady point in particular to the increase in the royalty paid to the City of Paris, which should reach 50 million euros, compared to 8 in 2021 and 16 in 2022.
The most visited paid monument in the world, the Eiffel Tower generates most of its revenue through the sale of tickets to visitors.
In 2022, the building welcomed 6,192,000 visitors, including
“75% foreigners”
, specifies Sete.
Ticket prices fluctuate between 11.80 euros and 29.40 euros for adults depending on the floor targeted (second or third) and the method of access chosen (stairs or elevator).
In 2022, Sete recorded a turnover of 106 million euros, unheard of since 2014. Substantial results which are not enough to make up for the hole in the accounts dug by Covid and its absence of visitors.
The health crisis and its restrictions had generated a deficit of around 130 million euros over 2020 and 2021. And the 60 million euros reinjected at the time by the City of Paris will not have been enough to put the ship back to normal. flow.
Also read “The fee to the City of Paris has quadrupled”: the bad accounts of the Eiffel Tower pinned down by its employees
This is why each day of strike represents a significant shortfall for the Iron Lady's coffers.
Especially since during this school holiday period, attendance at the building increases.
“This week, the daily average fluctuates between 16,000 and 22,000 visitors
,” says a union source in Le
Figaro
.
Which would represent losses of the order of
“200,000 to 300,000 euros per day”
, continues the same source.
Figures corroborated by a second source from another union organization, which even mentions 25,000 curious people per day during the summer period.
Since Monday, Sete has therefore been forced to sit on nearly a million euros.
When questioned, the company did not respond to requests from Le
Figaro
.