The Eiffel Tower was only meant to last for 20 years when it was built in 1889.
One hundred and thirty-three years on and the iconic monument is still standing – but only just about.
According to confidential reports leaked to the French magazine Marianne, the symbol of Paris is in ‘very bad shape’, and has been for many years.
The wrought-iron structure is said to be riddled with rust and in need of full repairs.
But it is only being given a cosmetic makeover for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
‘Distraught’ experts say the €60m paint job will be a waste of time and money.
‘If Gustave Eiffel visited the place he would have a heart attack,’ one unnamed manager at the tower told Marianne.
Gustave Eiffel built the 324-metre-tall, 7,300-tonne iron tower for the 1889 world’s fair, to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the French Revolution.
It was supposed to be torn down 20 years later, but was saved by scientific experts who recognised its value as a radiotelegraph station.
At the time, Eiffel said identifying and stopping the spread of rust was the biggest challenge to the construction’s longevity and suggested it would need painting every seven years.
However, experts say that in some places, ‘rust has won and is eating away at the iron of the monument like termites at wood’.
According to a report by Expiris, which specialises in rust prevention, just 10% of the paintwork was holding firm in 2014. The rest was said to be ‘flaking and crumbling’, exposing the 6,300 tonnes of iron beneath.
Bernard Giovannoni, an expert at Expiris said: ‘I had been working on the tower for several years.
‘In 2014, I concluded that it was very urgent to attack the corrosion.’
Another report in 2016 found 884 defects – 68 of them structural. Engineers recommended a thorough overhaul that would involve removing the old layers of paint.
However, the Paris council owned company that runs the Eiffel Tower ignored the advice and decided to add a new layer of paint – the 20th since the monument was built.
Specialists say the results of the makeover will be ‘lamentable’ and ‘pathetic’ and that painting over old paint is making the corrosion worse.
One said: ‘In some places, a single layer of paint is being daubed on to existing layers which are flaking and not holding. It’s a heresy.’
Laurent Valdiguié , the journalist who investigated the disrepair, wrote: ‘We saw Notre-Dame burn, will we see the Eiffel Tower fall?’
Experts believe the tower needs to be completely stripped back to the metal, repaired and repainted.
However, the company that oversees the tower, Sete, which is 99%-owned by the city hall, is reluctant to close it for a long period because of the tourist revenue that would be lost.
The Effiel Tower is the most visited monument with an entrance fee in the world, attracting around 6 million tourists in a typical year.
When it was forced to shut for eight months during Covid, it led to a loss of €52m in income.
Specialists say there is no immediate danger of the tower collapsing.
However, a complete overhaul will be necessary within the next decade.
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