<p>The Eiffel Tower was closed today following a strike by workers at the Paris landmark for better work conditions and more pay at the height of the tourist season.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The influential CGT union called the strike after failed last-minute talks yesterday which lasted for seven hours. The tower normally opens at 9:00 am (local time) and closes after midnight during the peak tourist season that runs from June till September.<br />The strike by the 300-odd workers is the first since a two-day shutdown in December 2010.<br /><br />The CGT also complained that one of the five lifts which was due to have been renovated and up and running following a decision taken in 2008 was still not ready, putting pressure on the employees.<br /><br />"The waiting lines are growing longer, the visitors are growing more and more impatient and the work conditions are deteriorating," a CGT statement said.<br /><br />The Eiffel Tower had to be evacuated for two hours last Tuesday after a man threatened to throw himself off in the latest of a string of suicide bids. The 324-metre structure attracts about seven million tourists every year.</p>
<p>The Eiffel Tower was closed today following a strike by workers at the Paris landmark for better work conditions and more pay at the height of the tourist season.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The influential CGT union called the strike after failed last-minute talks yesterday which lasted for seven hours. The tower normally opens at 9:00 am (local time) and closes after midnight during the peak tourist season that runs from June till September.<br />The strike by the 300-odd workers is the first since a two-day shutdown in December 2010.<br /><br />The CGT also complained that one of the five lifts which was due to have been renovated and up and running following a decision taken in 2008 was still not ready, putting pressure on the employees.<br /><br />"The waiting lines are growing longer, the visitors are growing more and more impatient and the work conditions are deteriorating," a CGT statement said.<br /><br />The Eiffel Tower had to be evacuated for two hours last Tuesday after a man threatened to throw himself off in the latest of a string of suicide bids. The 324-metre structure attracts about seven million tourists every year.</p>