The Minister of Culture put forward a proposal on the fourth day of the well-known monument’s closure caused by a strike.
Rachida Dati, on Wednesday, February 21, made a case for the Eiffel Tower to be deemed a historical monument. She believes this would allow the State, if necessary, to get involved in administrative tasks. “Today, the #Eiffel Tower does not enjoy sufficient protection,” the Minister of Culture posted, arguing for more protection.
Fourth day of strike
This initiative can be undertaken by the City of Paris, the monument’s owner, or by the prefecture’s services or even the Ministry of Culture itself. Rachida Dati, also the mayor of the 7th arrondissement – home to the Eiffel Tower – and primary contender to Anne Hidalgo in the capital, stated, “I don’t understand what is stopping the Mayor of #Paris from initiating this approach.”
The minister shared a copy of a letter, dated February 2022, in which she had urged the Paris town hall to declare the entire Champ de Mars, including the Eiffel Tower, as a historical monument. She brought up this matter after the tower was closed to visitors for four days due to a strike within the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (Sete). The operator’s inter-union association criticizes the city hall, under the leadership of socialist Anne Hidalgo, for unsustainable financial management and shortcomings in the monument’s maintenance.
Repaint the tower “every 7 years”
Although its designer Gustave Eiffel advised to repaint the tower “every seven years” to prevent rusting of the iron, the tower has not had a full repainting since 2010. A restoration campaign that began in 2019 is still incomplete due to the Covid-19 pandemic and unforeseen additional costs following the discovery of lead traces.
Just days after her appointment to the ministry on January 12, Rachida Dati confirmed her candidacy to succeed Anne Hidalgo as the mayor of Paris in 2026.
