Source: AFP
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Paris City Hall voted on Friday to raise the price of adult admission to the Eiffel Tower by 20 percent from next month to help pay for urgent renovation work.
Visitors currently pay 29.40 euros ($31.90) for a lift ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower, a price expected to rise to 35.30 euros on June 17.
The Paris city council also supported the recapitalization of the Eiffel Tower company SETE and reduced the annual fee charged by the operator to run one of the world’s most famous monuments.
Lower visitor numbers during the Covid pandemic combined with rising renovation costs have pushed SETE into deficit.
Staff at the Eiffel Tower went on strike earlier this year to protest what unions said was insufficient investment.
The Eiffel Tower closed a deficit of around 120 million euros during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/c01d8bbd1080d7de.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/c01d8bbd1080d7de.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
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Unions argued that the previous €60 million recapitalization was insufficient given the need for major maintenance work, including a new paint job.
Architect Gustave Eiffel’s masterpiece has been repainted 19 times since it was built for the 1889 World’s Fair.
Eiffel then recommended that it be painted every seven years to keep the inevitable rust at bay.
But the 300-meter-long iron structure — 330 meters tall when including the high-frequency antenna on top — hasn’t been fully painted since 2010.
Visitor numbers reached nearly six million last year, falling to 1.5 million in 2020 due to Covid restrictions.
Source: AFP