Eiffel Tower closed in row over women removed for Hindu group

The Eiffel Tower remained shut on Monday due to a staff strike over the exclusion of female employees during a visit by a Hindu religious group, according to both workers and management. The Hindu group, Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), organized a cultural boat procession on the Seine on the same day, along with their temple visit.

The Eiffel Tower's operating company, SETE, stated that female workers were sidelined, replaced, and rendered invisible during the delegation's visit because of professional instructions based on gender. SETE acknowledged that they should not have accepted the Hindu delegation's conditions, which aimed to minimize interactions with women.

French socialist mayor of the capital, Emmanuel Gregoire, expressed his disapproval of the management's decision to comply with the delegation's demands. The iconic tower, which attracts nearly seven million visitors annually, remained closed throughout Monday but is set to reopen as usual on Tuesday, according to a staff representative.

SETE president Ariel Weil, a socialist elected official in Paris, pledged to investigate the incident and draw necessary conclusions. BAPS, which shares connections with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling conservative Hindu nationalist party, consecrated its first major temple in France on Sunday near the capital.