Paris to Build 7-foot Bullet Proof Glass Wall Around Eiffel Tower

NTD Staff
By NTD Staff
February 10, 2017World News
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Paris plans to build a 7-foot high bulletproof glass wall around the Eiffel Tower as a security measure against terrorist attacks, a deputy mayor of the city said on February 10.

Patrick Klugman said the project was required to secure the world’s most visited paid-for monument in light of recent attacks in the French capital.

The wall would also offer the council the opportunity to renovate the gardens around the 324 metre Eiffel Tower, he said.

“We thought one of the solutions may be to have glass panels around two of the pillars of the Eiffel Tower, which are the ones used to enter into the Eiffel Tower, because it combines protection and elegance,” Klugman said, adding that the budget for the project was 20 million euros.

Many Paris residents and tourists standing at the foot of the Eiffel tower on Friday said they approved of the idea, for the sake of security and aesthetics.

Parisian school teacher, Madame Ersek, said that it would protect the population and hopefully encourage tourists scared off by the recent attacks to return.

“I think that it could also make it more attractive, it could be very nice to look at, like all the places that have been redone, for example the Louvre’s pyramid,” she said.

Jeevitesh, a tourist from India said that it would be an act of strength, while Canadian Gareth said he thought there were other more densely-populated locations around the city at risk.

Currently the Eiffel Tower receives about 6.9 million visitors a year. According to the INSEE national statistics agency, after 2016’s dramatic downturn in tourism following the attacks, the last few months have seen a rebound of nearly 4 percent.

 

(Reuters)

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