Strike shuts Eiffel Tower for second day

The Eiffel Tower was closed for a second day today at the height of the Paris tourist season due to a strike by workers for better work conditions and more pay.

The influential CGT union called the strike after failed last-minute talks on Monday which lasted for seven hours.

Negotiations resumed yesterday but some points remained unresolved, union officials said, adding that the structure could re-open for tourists later today.

The tower normally opens at 9:00am (0700 GMT) and closes after midnight during the peak summer season that runs from June until September.

The strike by the 300-odd workers is the first since a two-day shutdown in December 2010.
 

The CGT had also complained that one of the five lifts due to have been renovated following a decision taken in 2008 was still not ready, putting pressure on the employees.

The 324-metre (1,063-foot) structure attracts about seven million tourists every year.