The Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel operates, performs maintenance, and runs events at the Eiffel Tower. The SETE and its 340 staff welcome more than 6 million visitors to the Eiffel Tower every year, as part of a delegated public service contract with Paris City Hall.
SETE (Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel - The Eiffel Tower Operator) is a local public company. 99% is owned by the City of Paris, with the remaining 1% being owned by the Métropole du Grand Paris.
Its board of directors is chaired by Jean-François Martins, Councillor of the City of Paris
Formed in 2005, the City of Paris chose SETE to run and maintain the Eiffel Tower. With the Eiffel Tower attracting more than 6 million visitors every year, SETE’s main tasks are to modernise its facilities, its public areas, and the services available to visitors, all as part of a strategy focusing on sustainable development and high levels of security.
SETE, with 340 staff and a turnover of €99.8m in 2018, is managed by Patrick Branco Ruivo.
It total, some 600 people work to bring the Eiffel Tower to life every day. Half are employed by SETE, with the remaining half working for sub-concessionaires and subtenants.
SETE works with leading partners to deliver high quality services to the Eiffel Tower’s visitors.
Some parts of the Eiffel Tower are leased to subtenants:
On 1 November 2017 the City of Paris, which owns the Eiffel Tower, chose SETE to run and maintain the monument as part of a new 15-year delegated public service contract.
An agreement signed with the City of Paris details SETE’s various responsibilities as part of the delegated public service until 2032.
“The City of Paris wants to make the Eiffel Tower an unassailable showcase for the quality of Paris’ visitor experience”
(Paris City Hall press release, June 2017)
SETE’s work goes hand in hand with a real desire to place visitors at the core of its concerns, by developing an extensive transformation programme built upon three pillars:
SETE works with the assets provided by the City of Paris:
In 2008, SETE created a client watchdog body, enabling it to learn more about visitors to the Eiffel Tower and to evaluate their level of satisfaction regarding their visit and the services offered.
In 2017, the results show a high level of satisfaction: