The Eiffel Tower is riddled with rust and needs complete repairs but is instead being given a €60m cosmetic paint job ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, according to confidential reports cited by French magazine Marianne on Tuesday. .
Built by Gustave Eiffel in the late 19th century, the 1,063-foot (324-meter) wrought-iron tower is among the most visited tourist sites in the world, welcoming some six million visitors each year. However, confidential expert reports cited by Marianne suggest that the monument is in poor condition and full of rust.
“It’s simple, if Gustave Eiffel visited the place, he would have a heart attack,” an anonymous tower manager told Marianne. The company that oversees the tower, Societe d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), could not immediately be reached for comment.
The tower is currently undergoing a €60 million repainting in preparation for the 2024 Olympics, the 20th time the Tower has been repainted.
About 30 percent of the tower was supposed to have been stripped and then two new coats applied, but work delays caused by the COVID pandemic and the presence of lead in the old paint mean that only 5 percent will be treated, Marianne said.
SETE is reluctant to close the tower for a long time due to tourism revenue that would be lost, he added.
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