Paris city hall on Friday voted to increase the Eiffel Tower adult admission price by 20 percent from next month to help pay for urgent renovation work. Visitors currently pay 29.40 euros ($31.90) for a ride by lift to the top of the Eiffel tower, a price tag that is set to rise to 35.30 euros on June 17. The Paris city council also backed a recapitalization for Eiffel Tower operator SETE, and lowered the annual fee it charges the operator for running one of the world’s most famous monuments.

Lower visitor numbers during the COVID pandemic combined with spiraling renovation costs have pushed SETE deep into deficit. Staff at the Eiffel Tower went on strike earlier this year, protesting against what unions said was insufficient investment. The Eiffel Tower booked a shortfall of around 120 million euros during the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Unions argued that previous recapitalization of 60 million euros was insufficient given the need for major maintenance work, including a fresh paint job. The masterpiece by architect Gustave Eiffel has been repainted 19 times since it was built for the 1889 World Fair.

Eiffel recommended at the time that it should be painted every seven years to keep inevitable rust at bay. But the 300-metre (985-feet) iron structure -- 330 meters tall when the high-frequency antenna at the top is included -- has not been given a full paint job since 2010. Visitor numbers recovered to nearly six million last year, having dropped to 1.5 million in 2020 because of COVID restrictions. — AFP