PARIS – Staff at the Eiffel Tower walked out on strike on Wednesday in a dispute over lengthening queues at the Paris landmark, forcing it to close during the peak summer tourist season.
Talks between the CGT trade union and the tower’s management over a new access system – which according to workers was responsible for “monstrous” lines of visitors – reached deadlock on Wednesday afternoon and the site closed at 4 pm (1400 GMT).
It was not clear whether the strike would continue on Thursday.
The new system, which from July has reserved separate lifts for different types of ticket-holders, was exhausting staff who had to deal with the frustrated tourists, union officials said.
People stand in line at an information booth following the closure of the Eiffel Tower as part of a strike by employees over lengthening queues during the peak summer tourist season in Paris, France.ReutersThe site’s management has said the summer months were always busy.
Each year over six million tourists go up the 1,063-foot tower, the French capital’s most famous attraction.
