Eiffel Tower Operator Says Strike by Staff Has Ended, Site to Reopen on Sunday

 This photograph taken on February 23, 2024, shows the Eiffel Tower on a cloudy day in Paris. (AFP)
This photograph taken on February 23, 2024, shows the Eiffel Tower on a cloudy day in Paris. (AFP)
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Eiffel Tower Operator Says Strike by Staff Has Ended, Site to Reopen on Sunday

 This photograph taken on February 23, 2024, shows the Eiffel Tower on a cloudy day in Paris. (AFP)
This photograph taken on February 23, 2024, shows the Eiffel Tower on a cloudy day in Paris. (AFP)

A strike by staff at the Eiffel Tower has ended, the company that runs one of the most visited tourist sites in the world said in a statement on Saturday.

The tower will reopen on Sunday, the Societe d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), which is owned by Paris City Hall, added.

Workers at the Eiffel Tower went on strike on Feb. 19 in protest over the way the Paris monument is managed.

It came as Paris prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, which begin on July 26 and will feature metal from the tower in the winners' medals.

SETE and trade unions "reached an end-of-strike agreement stipulating that the parties will regularly review the company's business model, maintenance costs and sales through a body that will meet every six months", the company said.

SETE said visitors who bought tickets between Feb. 19-24 will get refunds.

Unions claim Paris City Hall, which owns 99% of SETE, is underestimating the cost of planned maintenance and repairs to the monument ahead of the Olympics.



UNESCO Adds Cameroon, Malawi Sites to Heritage List

Cameroon's Mandara Mountains site made the 2025 UNESCO world heritage list - AFP
Cameroon's Mandara Mountains site made the 2025 UNESCO world heritage list - AFP
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UNESCO Adds Cameroon, Malawi Sites to Heritage List

Cameroon's Mandara Mountains site made the 2025 UNESCO world heritage list - AFP
Cameroon's Mandara Mountains site made the 2025 UNESCO world heritage list - AFP

Two cultural sites, in Cameroon and Malawi, were added Friday to the UNESCO World Heritage List, said the organization, which has made boosting Africa's representation a priority.

The Diy-Gid-Biy landscape of the Mandara Mountains, in the far north of Cameroon, consists of archaeological sites, probably created between the 12th and 17th centuries, surrounded by agricultural terraces and sites of worship, AFP reported.

Malawi's choice is a mountain range dominated by Mount Mulanje, in the south of the country, considered a sacred place inhabited by gods, spirits and ancestors.

Among the 30 heritage list applications under consideration this year, two others are from African countries that had not previously been represented on the World Heritage List.

They are the Gola Tiwai Forests in Sierra Leone, which provide sanctuary for threatened species such as forest elephants, and the biosphere reserve of the Bijagos Archipelago in Guinea-Bissau.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has presented Africa as a priority during her two terms in office, although the continent remains underrepresented in the list.

Among the candidates from elsewhere, a number of competing sites date back to prehistoric times, such as the Carnac stones in western France and rock carvings along the Bangucheon Stream in South Korea.

Making the UNESCO heritage list often sparks a lucrative tourism drive, and can unlock funding for the preservation of sites that can face threats including pollution, war and negligence.