Eiffel Tower shut amid row over 'removal of female staff' during Hindu group's visit

The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after employees went on strike following allegations that female staff were asked to leave their work areas during a visit by a delegation linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement.

The incident has triggered a debate in France after staff alleged that some women were removed from their usual posts and replaced by male colleagues while the delegation was at the landmark.

Staff union representative Diane Davoine told Reuters that women were specifically asked to leave their positions during the visit.

"During the visit of this delegation, women were asked to leave their places of work in order to place men there," she said.

Davoine said the arrangement caused discomfort among employees, particularly the women affected. “Some were asked to leave their posts and withdraw to other areas. In some posts, they were replaced by men. And all female employees were instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present,” she said.

Eiffel Tower operator calls practice unacceptable

According to AFP, the company operating the monument, Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), said the delegation had asked to "limit interactions with women". The company acknowledged that such conditions should not have been accepted.

SETE president Ariel Weil told AFP, "It is clearly not an acceptable practice. I restate the Eiffel Tower's commitment to republican values and to the equality of men and women".

Davoine said tensions had grown over the weekend before employees gathered on Monday to seek talks with management and ensure such treatment of female workers would not happen again.

BAPS apologises over Eiffel Tower controversy

BAPS's Hindu temple in Paris said on X that the delegation's visit had been arranged beforehand with Eiffel Tower teams during the monument's opening hours.

"To our knowledge, at no time was access to the Eiffel Tower denied to anyone. Nevertheless, we wish to offer our sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by this situation. We are deeply committed to the universal values of mutual respect and service to others," the statement said.

The delegation's visit came a day after BAPS consecrated its first major temple in France in the Paris suburbs.

Paris mayor orders investigation

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said an investigation would examine what happened during the visit.

"I am taking note of the anger expressed by the employees of the Eiffel Tower, and I want to tell them that their discontent is legitimate," he wrote on X.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen also criticised the incident, saying France "will never accept that the presence of women be limited."

Former prime minister Gabriel Attal condemned the episode as well, saying, "no culture, no belief, no worship, nothing nor anyone can come to dictate to women their place."