Eiffel Tower closed in row over women removed for Hindu group

The Eiffel Tower was shut down on Monday due to a staff strike protesting the removal of female employees during a visit by a Hindu religious group. The Hindu Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) movement organized a cultural boat procession on the Seine on the same day. Eiffel Tower staff condemned the instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced, and made invisible based on their gender during the delegation's visit.

Female employees were instructed to make themselves invisible and were not allowed to cross certain areas while the delegation was present. Some were even replaced by male staff. The operating company SETE acknowledged that the conditions were unacceptable, as they conflicted with the company's values and principles of equality between men and women.

SETE president Ariel Weil, a socialist elected official in Paris, expressed his disappointment and promised to accept the consequences. French Equality Minister Aurore Berge and presidential candidates Marine Le Pen and Gabriel Attal also criticized the incident.