Eiffel Tower to Reopen After Two-Day Strike

Eiffel Tower to Reopen After Two-Day Strike, The Eiffel Tower was set to reopen Thursday after a two-day strike over working conditions that left thousands of visitors locked out of one of the world's most-visited tourist attractions.

The company that runs the 324-meter (1,063-foot) structure said an agreement had been reached with the workers Wednesday night, but didn't provide any details on the terms.

"The operation is resuming gradually so that the monument opens normally Thursday at 9 a.m.," Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel said in a statement.

Opened in 1889 for the World's Fair, the tower has become a must-see for almost every visitor to Paris. At this time of year, an average of 25,000 people ascend the tower every day. The landmark is usually open every day, and in the summer from 9 a.m. until past midnight.

Some baffled tourists were wandering the still-crowded base of the tower Wednesday.

"I'm so mad about this," said 23 year-old student Eva Hyllemose, who traveled from Copenhagen and wanted to show her friends back in Denmark a photo from the top of the tower.

"We have had a few very upset people. They booked their perfect dream trip to Paris and only have a few days here," said Julie Neis, operations manager for Easy Pass Tours, an American company that takes as many as 500 tourists a day up the Eiffel Tower.

The tour operator refunded 322 people on Tuesday and will have to refund another 276 Wednesday, she said.

The strike was called by the CGT union, which represents the majority of the 300 employees. In a statement posted on its Facebook FB +2.07% page, the union said it had a "long list of demands," including regarding renovations under way at the site.

"For several years, we have been drowning in never-finished construction work," the union said. "This is multiplying delays…which is raising the bills."

"There are important economic consequences for the company, which are generating important difficulties for all of its employees, from the top to the bottom of the pyramid," the union said.

The Eiffel Tower is in the midst of a €25 million ($32.7 million) project to install a glass floor on its first level, which is set to finish at the end of next summer.

According to the CGT, the company has been running behind schedule on renovating one of the elevators that take tourists up to the top of the tower. That has meant long lines for visitors, the union said.

The Eiffel Tower isn't the first tourist attraction in Paris to be hit by strikes this year. In April, staff at the Louvre museum—home to the "Mona Lisa" and other art treasures—held a one-day strike to protest the rising number of attacks by pickpockets around the museum, workers unions said.

Louvre management said they have taken steps to address what they conceded was a growing problem, including a heightened police presence.

The city of Paris owns both the tower itself and a 60% stake in the company that manages it.

The Eiffel Tower spokeswoman declined to comment on the lost revenue the strike was causing. She said last year, the tower's revenue totaled €66.5 million ($87 million).

There was one way to go partially up the tower on Wednesday: the Michelin-starred restaurant on the second floor was accessible by its dedicated elevator.

Corrections & Amplifications
The renovations underway at the Eiffel Tower are set to finish at the end of next summer. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said they would finish at the end of this year.