Eiffel Tower closed in row over women removed for Hindu group

The Eiffel Tower was shut down on Monday following a staff strike sparked by the removal of female employees during a visit by a Hindu religious group. The visit coincided with a cultural boat procession on the Seine, organized by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement, which is associated with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's conservative Hindu nationalist party.

In a statement, Eiffel Tower staff expressed outrage over the instructions given to female employees, which compelled them to become "invisible" to welcome the delegation. Some female staff were asked to vacate their posts and move to different areas, while others were replaced by male colleagues. All female employees were instructed not to enter or cross certain areas while the delegation was present.

SETE, the company managing the Paris landmark, acknowledged that the Hindu delegation had requested the visit with the aim of limiting interactions with women, and deemed these conditions unacceptable. SETE president Ariel Weil, a socialist elected official in Paris, stated that such practices are not in line with the company's values and commitment to equality between men and women.

The French capital's socialist mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, called the Eiffel Tower management's agreement to the delegation's conditions "unacceptable" and promised to launch an investigation.

The incident has drawn criticism from various quarters. French Equality Minister Aurore Berge condemned the practice of asking women to "erase themselves," emphasizing that no dogma or religion should be above the laws of the Republic. Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen also condemned the incident, asserting that France would never accept limiting women's presence.

Centrist presidential candidate Gabriel Attal echoed similar sentiments, stating that no culture, belief, or religion can dictate women's place in French society.