Rusting Eiffel Tower in Need of Full Repairs, Reports Say

This picture taken on June 1, 2022 shows the Eiffel Tower with La Defense business district in the background in Paris. (AFP)
This picture taken on June 1, 2022 shows the Eiffel Tower with La Defense business district in the background in Paris. (AFP)
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Rusting Eiffel Tower in Need of Full Repairs, Reports Say

This picture taken on June 1, 2022 shows the Eiffel Tower with La Defense business district in the background in Paris. (AFP)
This picture taken on June 1, 2022 shows the Eiffel Tower with La Defense business district in the background in Paris. (AFP)

The Eiffel Tower is riddled with rust and in need of full repairs, but instead it is being given a cosmetic paint job ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, according to confidential reports cited by French magazine Marianne.

The wrought-iron 324-meter (1,063 ft) high tower, built by Gustave Eiffel in the late 19th century, is among the most visited tourist sites in the world, welcoming about six million visitors each year.

However confidential reports by experts cited by Marianne suggest the monument is in a poor state and riddled with rust.

"It is simple, if Gustave Eiffel visited the place he would have a heart attack," one unnamed manager at the tower told Marianne.

The company that oversees the tower, Societe d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), could not be immediately reached for comment.

The tower is currently undergoing a repaint costing 60 million euros in preparation of the 2024 Olympics, the 20th time the Tower has been repainted.

Some 30% of the tower was supposed to have been stripped and then have two new coats applied but delays to the work caused by the COVID pandemic and the presence of lead in the old paint means only 5% will be treated, Marianne said.

SETE is reluctant to close the tower for a long time because of the tourist revenue that would be lost, it added.



A Cat named Leonardo da Pinchy Doesn’t Want your Affection. He Wants to Steal Your Underwear

In this photo provided by Helen North, Leo the laundry-stealing cat poses on July 24, 2024, at its home in Auckland, New Zealand. (Helen North via AP)
In this photo provided by Helen North, Leo the laundry-stealing cat poses on July 24, 2024, at its home in Auckland, New Zealand. (Helen North via AP)
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A Cat named Leonardo da Pinchy Doesn’t Want your Affection. He Wants to Steal Your Underwear

In this photo provided by Helen North, Leo the laundry-stealing cat poses on July 24, 2024, at its home in Auckland, New Zealand. (Helen North via AP)
In this photo provided by Helen North, Leo the laundry-stealing cat poses on July 24, 2024, at its home in Auckland, New Zealand. (Helen North via AP)

Most cat owners dread their pets bringing home mice or birds. But for the owners of one felonious feline in Auckland, New Zealand, there’s a worse shame — being the unwitting accomplice to an unstoppable one-cat crimewave.

His prolific laundry-pinching from clotheslines and bedrooms in the placid beachside neighborhood of Mairangi Bay has turned 15-month-old Leo into a local celebrity and earned him a new moniker. He now goes by Leonardo da Pinchy, The Associated Press said.

And he’s got expensive taste. His frequent hauls include silk boxer shorts, thick men’s work socks — preferably with clothespins still attached — and in one mortifying episode for his humans, a brand-new 300 New Zealand dollar ($181) cashmere sweater.

“My daughter was at home sick and she rang me at work saying, ’It’s bad, it’s bad, this is the worst thing he’s brought in, it’s really bad,” said Leo’s owner, Helen North. “Because it was beautiful. I was like, ‘Ooh, can I keep that?’ But I couldn’t.”

Instead, North turned to a neighborhood WhatsApp group to return Leo’s stolen goods to their rightful owners. Her usual message: “Are these your undies?”

But the pilfered stash kept piling up: socks (piles), underwear (loads) and even a 5-foot-long stuffed snake (bizarre). On one record-setting day, Leo returned with nine items, enough for a full outfit if you didn’t mind a mix of everything from baby clothes to menswear.

“He brought in a jersey this morning at 10 past 8,” North said. “The shops hadn’t even opened.”

With dozens of items unclaimed, the embarrassed owner took her search for Leo’s victims wider this month, posting photos of his hauls on a local Facebook page along with an apology and her address. Those who showed up to claim their belongings included a woman who recognized her pink and purple underpants and a boy whose beloved and missing sports jersey was helpfully identifiable by his name printed on the back.

The ire North expected over Leo's cat burgling antics didn’t eventuate — although one of his targets, who is allergic to cats, now dries her laundry indoors.

“All of our neighbors think he’s amazing,” she said. “Some of them are quite put out that he hasn’t actually stolen anything of theirs.”

Still, North has tried everything to curb her cat’s laundry obsession, from attempting to keep him indoors to leaving out clothes at home for him to steal. No luck.

“He only wants stuff that he shouldn’t have,” she said, adding that she was also unwilling to risk an online suggestion that Leo simply needed another playmate.

“He might teach another cat to do this,” North said.

Leo's life of crime began when he was first allowed outdoors a year ago. But his family hopes it’s just a juvenile phase.

“I hope he grows out of it because I don’t want to do this for like, 15 years,” North said. “This is a lot of admin.”

For now, on the streets of Mairangi Bay, Leonardo da Pinchy remains at large.