Eiffel Tower shut by staff protest after women moved for religious visit

The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday due to a staff strike following the removal of female workers for a visit by a Hindu religious group. The delegation, comprising around 100 members from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), arrived in Paris on Saturday for a religious pilgrimage. According to staff union representative Diane Davoine, women were instructed to vacate their workstations to make room for male employees.

Management subsequently apologized for the incident, which deeply upset female staff members. The dispute escalated over the weekend, leading the workers to meet with management to address the issue and prevent similar occurrences. The company that operates the monument, Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), confirmed that the visit was organized to minimize interactions with women, which the firm deemed unacceptable and contrary to their values of equality between men and women.

SETE president Ariel Weil emphasized the monument's commitment to republican values and equality of the sexes. BAPS stated they had arranged the visit to coincide with normal opening hours and had apologized for any inconvenience caused, asserting their belief in universal values of mutual respect and service. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire promised an investigation into the incident, stating that the anger expressed by Eiffel Tower employees was legitimate and that equality between women and men would not be compromised at historical landmarks.

French political figures, including Marine Le Pen, Gabriel Attal, and Yaël Braun-Pivet, expressed strong opposition to limiting women's presence in public spaces.