Paris: The Eiffel Tower — closed to visitors since Wednesday afternoon — reopened on Friday morning after workers went on strike over unacceptably long queues at the Paris landmark.
Workers had walked out in protest at a new access policy that has seen separate lifts allocated to visitors with pre-booked tickets and those who buy them on site.
At the same time, the tower now sets aside half of daily tickets for internet customers, up from just 20 per cent previously.
Workers said the changes resulted in lopsided queues that could extend to three hours for those waiting to pay for tickets, and up to an hour for internet customers who are supposed to have reserved time slots.
But late on Thursday, management and unions said that the tower would reopen on Friday.
Many tourists arriving on Thursday morning had no idea what the strike was about, with signs saying only that the monument was closed.
“I’m annoyed, I’m not going to lie,” said Robin Frye of Birmingham, England.
