Eiffel Tower reopens despite tougher rules in France

People relax at the Champ-de-Mars garden next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Friday, July 16, 2021. The Eiffel Tower is reopening Friday for the first time in nine months, just as France faces new virus rules aimed at taming the fast-spreading delta variant. The “Iron Lady” was ordered shut in October as France battled its second surge of the virus. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

The Eiffel Tower has greeted tourists for the first time in nearly nine months, reopening to the public even as France introduces new rules aimed at taming the fast-spreading Delta variant of coronavirus.

The “Iron Lady” of Paris was closed in October as France battled its second surge of the pandemic, and remained shut for renovations even after other French tourist draws reopened last month.