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.



Research: Walking 7,000 Steps a Day a Huge Boost to Health

Step up: Walking even just a little more every day could have big health benefits. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File
Step up: Walking even just a little more every day could have big health benefits. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File
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Research: Walking 7,000 Steps a Day a Huge Boost to Health

Step up: Walking even just a little more every day could have big health benefits. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File
Step up: Walking even just a little more every day could have big health benefits. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File

People who walk 7,000 steps a day have a dramatically lower risk of a broad range of serious health problems, the largest review of the evidence yet said Thursday.

The most widely promoted target for people tracking their number of steps is 10,000 -- but that figure reportedly originally came from a 1960s marketing campaign for a Japanese pedometer, AFP said.

To find a more scientific target, an international team of researchers sifted through 57 previous studies that covered 160,000 people.

The results published in the Lancet Public Health journal found that walking 7,000 steps a day nearly halved people's risk of early death from all causes, compared to 2,000 steps.

The study also looked into health problems not previously covered by research into step counts.

Walking 7,000 steps a day was linked to people's risk of dementia falling by 38 percent, depression dropping 22 percent and diabetes decreasing 14 percent.

It was also associated with lower rates of cancer and falls, though the researchers warned this was based on less evidence.

"You don't need to hit 10,000 steps a day to get major health benefits," Paddy Dempsey, a study co-author and medical researcher at Cambridge University, told AFP.

"The biggest gains happen before 7,000 steps, and then benefits tend to level off," he said.

While people's speeds vary widely, 7,000 steps adds up to roughly an hour of walking throughout the day.

Dempsey emphasized that people already managing 10,000 or more steps should keep it up.

But he had a message for people who might find 7,000 steps daunting: "don't be discouraged".

"If you're only getting 2,000–3,000 steps a day, aim to add an extra 1,000 steps. That's just 10–15 minutes of light walking spread across the day," he said.

Andrew Scott, a researcher at the University of Portsmouth not involved in the study, said that "it demonstrates that overall more is always better".

"People should not focus too much on the numbers, particularly on days where activity is limited," he added.

The World Health Organization recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity a week. Nearly a third of people worldwide do not reach this target, according to the WHO.