Eiffel Tower shut by staff protest after female workers moved for religious visit
The Eiffel Tower closed on Monday after staff walked out over the removal of female workers during a visit by a BAPS Hindu movement delegation.
The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after staff members walked out in protest over the removal of female workers during a private visit by a religious delegation.
The controversy centres around a visit on Saturday by a delegation of approximately 100 individuals associated with the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement. The group was in France for celebrations linked to the inauguration of its first major temple in the Paris suburbs on Sunday. According to union representatives, as the delegation passed through the monument, female employees were instructed to step away from their workstations or avoid certain areas entirely, with male colleagues taking their places. Staff and contractors reported being told to make themselves invisible.
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Staff union representative Diane Davoine explained to India Today and other outlets that tensions mounted rapidly over the weekend. Employees convened a meeting on Monday morning to open a dialogue with management and demand guarantees that female staff would never be subjected to such treatment again. Workers released a statement condemning professional instructions that led female employees to be sidelined, replaced, and made invisible because of their sex. Signs posted at the monument informed arriving visitors that the opening was delayed for operational reasons.
Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), the company operating the landmark, acknowledged that the delegation requested the visit be organised to limit interactions with women. In statements reported by Malay Mail, SETE conceded that these conditions should not have been accepted and fell short of SETE's values and principles of equality between men and women. SETE president Ariel Weil stated that the practice was not acceptable and confirmed the operator would draw conclusions.
In response to the backlash, the BAPS temple in Paris released a statement on X indicating that the visit had been arranged in conjunction with the Eiffel Tower team at the start of normal opening hours to avoid disrupting or inconveniencing others. The organisation maintained that to the best of its knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access to the Eiffel Tower, but offered an apology for any pain or inconvenience caused. BAPS emphasised its dedication to universal values of mutual respect and service.
The incident triggered condemnation from senior French politicians. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire took to social media to declare that the management's agreement to the delegation's conditions was unacceptable, announcing that an investigation would be launched. National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet stated via The Straits Times that welcoming others never means giving up our values. Equality Minister Aurore Berge asserted that no religion is above the laws of the Republic. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Gabriel Attal similarly denounced the attempt to restrict the presence of women.
According to staff representatives cited by Yahoo News UK, the Eiffel Tower is expected to reopen on Tuesday.
