The Eiffel Tower is covered in rust and needs extensive repairs, but instead of doing so, it will receive a cosmetic 60 million euro paint job before the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, according to confidential data reported by the French magazine Marianne.

Gustave Eiffel constructed the wrought-iron, 324-meter (1,063-foot) tall tower in the late 19th century. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, drawing about six million tourists annually.

However confidential reports by experts cited by Marianne suggest the monument is in a poor state and riddled with rust.

“It is simple, if Gustave Eiffel visited the place he would have a heart attack,” one unnamed manager at the tower told Marianne.

The company that oversees the tower, Societe d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), could not be immediately reached for comment.

The tower is currently undergoing a repaint costing 60 million euros in preparation of the 2024 Olympics, the 20th time the Tower has been repainted.

Some 30% of the tower was supposed to have been stripped and then have two new coats applied but delays to the work caused by the COVID pandemic and the presence of lead in the old paint means only 5% will be treated, Marianne said.

SETE is reluctant to close the tower for a long time because of the tourist revenue that would be lost, it added.