Introduction

What is SETE?

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, which has approximately 420 employees and generated over €156 million in revenue in 2025, 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.

Who are SETE’s concessionaires and subtenants?

SETE works with leading partners to deliver high quality services to the Eiffel Tower’s visitors.

Who sits on the SETE board of directors?

Representatives of the City of Paris:

• M. Jean-François MARTINS, President
• Mme Maya AKKARI
• M. Frédéric BADINA-SERPETTE
• M. Nicolas BONNET-OULALDJ
• M. Gauthier CARON-THIBAULT
• Mme Emmanuelle DAUVERGNE
• M. Frédéric HOCQUARD
• Mme Fatoumata KONÉ
• M. Arnaud NGATCHA
• M. Pierre RABADAN
• Mme Karen TAIEB
• Mme Anouch TORANIAN 

Representative of the Métropole du Grand Paris :

• M. Philippe GOUJON

What is a delegated public service? 

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 14-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 2031.

“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:

• An improved visitor experience: with more online ticket sales, an expansion of the Eiffel Tower’s perimeter to enclose the gardens around the monument, an overhaul of the customer experience (signage, events, guided tours, security), and the modernisation of the services and facilities available to visitors (WiFi, etc.)
• Maintenance of the monument: through refurbishment work which includes enhanced security and accessibility (protective perimeter and landscaping), renovation of the second floor, and maintenance work (North lift, paintwork and sparkling)
• Boosting the monument’s national and international reputation: through involvement in the City of Paris’ major events (Olympic Games/Universal Expo) and its own events, developing the Eiffel Tower’s heritage online, and coordinating its online community

SETE works with the assets provided by the City of Paris:

• The monument as a whole, excluding the TDF antennae
• The gardens around the monument, the square on the ground and adjoining premises
• The Eiffel Tower’s lifts and all of its facilities and equipment
• Intellectual, commercial, and industrial property rights
• Archives and operational assets

Client observatory

In 2008, SETE created a client observatory, 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 2024, the results show a record level of satisfaction among visitors to the Eiffel Tower:

• Overall satisfaction rate: 96%, with 84.2% reporting that they are very satisfied
• In 2019, these figures stood at 81% and 62%, respectively.

CSR Commitment

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is defined by the European Commission as the voluntary integration by companies of social and environmental concerns into their business activities and their relationships with stakeholders.

Since late 2023, SETE’s commitment to CSR has been centered on four strategic priorities:

• A more accessible Tower: improving the visitor experience for people with disabilities and developing a more inclusive compensation policy;
• A more sustainable Tower that must adapt to climate change: waste management and the fight against single-use plastics, adapting visitor routes and infrastructure to changing weather conditions;
• A more inclusive Tower that shares: hosting Parisian school groups and community organizations, supporting causes; 
• A model initiative: structuring the process, collecting data, establishing monitoring indicators, and pursuing labels and certifications.

A CSR committee comprising about ten employees from all departments of the company meets monthly to advance the initiative. Similarly, ad hoc and expanded working groups have been formed to implement the action plan related to the four pillars of SETE’s CSR strategy.

Since 2026, SETE has been part of the Ile-de-France chapter of the Business Climate Convention.

Ultimately, SETE hopes that the Tower will serve as a model and play a role in raising awareness among its visitors.