Tourists disappointed as strike shuts Eiffel Tower for second day

Eiffel Tower in Paris AFP FILE PHOTO

PARIS — The Eiffel Tower was closed for a second day at the height of the Paris tourist season as workers remained on strike Wednesday, to the disappointment of tourists flocking to the site.

Unable to scale the heights of the famous monument, visitors instead posed at the tower’s base, snapping photographs of themselves standing beside “On Strike” posters.

Eiffel Tower staff are refusing to work as they agitate for better working conditions and more pay.

“I wanted to go up there, take my wife in my arms and say ‘Jackie, I love you’, but it’s OK, there’s so much to see in Paris,” said David, a Florida retiree on holiday in Paris with his new bride.

Trying to visit the tower for a second day running, Emily Knowles and Jeanie Weir, both 21-year-old Australian students, could hardly hide their disappointment.

“It was our big plan for the day,” they said, before deciding to wander along the Champs-Elysees instead.

The influential CGT union called the strike after failed last-minute talks on Monday, which lasted for seven hours.

Negotiations resumed Tuesday but some points remained unresolved, union officials said, adding that the structure could re-open for tourists later on Wednesday.

The tower normally opens at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) and closes after midnight during the peak summer season running from June until September.

The strike by the 300-odd workers is the first since a two-day shutdown in December 2010.

The CGT had also complained that one of the five lifts due to have been renovated following a decision taken in 2008 was still not ready, putting pressure on the employees.

The 324-meter (1,063-foot) structure attracts about seven million tourists every year.