The Eiffel Tower was originally built on January 26th, 1887, as an entrance to the 1889 Paris World’s Fair and as a monument to the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Ever since it was built, it has been a famous landmark around the world.
This October, there have been ongoing protests and nationwide strikes occurring in France. These protests were fueled by nationwide disagreements.
Starting on October 2, 2025, major French unions organized nationwide demonstrations against the government’s spending cuts and austerity measures. Protestors demanded better public services and higher taxes on the wealthy. “It’s true, it’s the first time that there are three days of strikes and protests in a month without a government or budget. It shows the level of social anger,” Sophie Binet, head of the CGT union, said Thursday.
In response to this, the management of the Eiffel Tower Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) announced the closure due to the strike action. While the protests have caused disruptions, there have also been rumors of demolishing the Eiffel Tower due to the protests, which have recently been confirmed as false.
It was stated by AP News that, “In Paris, thousands of workers, retirees, and students marched on Thursday afternoon from Place d’Italie.” This statement comes to tell that this was not pointed toward one specific age group; there were many people of all ages.
In addition to all the events that occurred this October, a similar incident also happened in February 2024. Some think of this February as the real start of the tragedy. There were multiple strikes from staff at the Eiffel Tower in protest against the city hall’s handling of maintenance and repair costs ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The strike came to an end after SETE and union representatives reached an agreement to increase the monument’s maintenance budget.
From this event, there have been many disruptions to people’s daily lives. For one, it has been difficult for people to get around this area, and on protest days, kids’ schools have been experiencing closures and have been barricaded, which can have a large effect on kids and the education system. There were also roadblocks due to protests, which affected businesses and their operations. Also, there has been a large effect on law enforcement. “Authorities have deployed a large number of police officers, with reports of up to 80,000 nationwide, in response to the protests. This has been especially notable in the ‘Block Everything’ campaigns.” Some of these protests have included clashes with the police, increasing concerns about public safety, and the government’s handling of the unrest.
In the end, the protests have demonstrated that this is more than a little frustration, but a determination of people demanding change in France. Protesting on the Eiffel Tower made many powerful statements that have spread all across the world and got the attention of many. No matter what side of this argument you are on, this has left a strong message and brought importance to the issue happening this October in Paris, France.
