After nine months of closure – its longest post-war closure – the Eiffel Tower reopens. With “Welcome” messages in multiple languages, the Eiffel Tower greeted tourists Friday for the first time in nearly nine months, reopening to the public even as France introduces new virus rules aimed at taming the fast-spreading delta variant. Visitors must present the health pass to access it.
It is in the middle of the day that the Iron Lady will welcome her first tourists. With a reception capacity reduced by 50% initially, especially in the elevators of the tower, for a total of 13,000 visitors maximum per day.
After 260 days without visitors and a massive recourse to short-time work for the 350 employees, “there is a real expectation of the staff” who end with “almost a month of complete check-up”, explains Jean-François Martins, the president of the operating company of the Eiffel Tower (Sete). Elevators, counters, barrier gestures, … “it’s a bit like starting a plane …”.
The health pass will be required from July 21, as in most places open to the public. “Obviously, this is a little additional operational complexity to implement in a few days, but it is not insurmountable”, relativizes Jean-François Martins. But “the Lady is ready. She put on a big show on Wednesday night to get ready, “said Martins, after the July 14 fireworks display, some pictures of which have been circulating on social networks.
France has opened to international tourists this summer, but the rules vary depending on which country they are coming from. While visitors are trickling back to Paris, their numbers have been far from normal levels, given continued border restrictions and virus risks.
Early reservations for tickets during the French summer holiday period underline how the tourism industry in Paris has changed due to travel restrictions. Martins said there was an “almost total absence” of British ticket holders, while only 15 percent were Americans and very few were from Asia. Half of visitors are expected to be French, while Italians and Spanish make up a higher proportion than usual.
The long closure has caused havoc with the finances of the operating company, Sete, which runs the monument on behalf of Paris city authorities. It is set to seek additional government aid and a fresh 60-million-euro ($70m) cash injection to stay afloat, having seen its revenues fall by 75 percent to 25 million euros ($29m) in 2020.
