The Minister of Culture and Mayor of VIIe district considers that simple registration as historic monuments is not enough.
A rare defector from the Attal government to the Barnier government, Rachida Dati is also back in the Paris Council, as mayor of the 7th arrondissement. It is with this double hat that she intervened once again in the debate on the management and maintenance of the Eiffel Tower. And in particular on the question of its classification as a historic monument, a debate on which Anne Hidalgo and Rachida Dati have been crossing swords since the beginning of the year.
« Our capital sadly stands out from other large French cities by the low number of protected and classified places. The Eiffel Tower is an emblematic case. : it is only “registered” and not “classified” as a historic monument, whereas only classification would truly protect it », she explains in the columns of Parisian . « Ms. Hidalgo’s opposition to the classification is incomprehensible. It is to be feared that she will make it a personal matter with me, which I regret.continues the minister. The regional prefect sent a letter to Anne Hidalgo to this effect. In the event of refusal on his part, I will take the decision of automatic classification.»
The classification would imply greater surveillance of the tower, property of the City, by the Île-de-France cultural affairs department, a body dependent on the State. Maintenance work should therefore be subsidized by the ministry (up to 50%). Until then, the State has contributed very little to the maintenance of the famous iron lady, which is Anne Hidalgo’s main argument in the case.