{
  "id": 6321109,
  "title": "Paris probes why women staff removed from Eiffel Tower for Hindu visit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/paris-probes-why-women-staff-removed-from-eiffel-tower-for-hindu-visit",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-08T20:19:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "France 24",
    "slug": "france-24",
    "url": "https://www.france24.com/en/paris-probes-why-women-staff-removed-from-eiffel-tower-for-hindu-visit"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Eiffel Tower in Paris was closed for a day after female employees were removed from their posts during a visit by a Hindu group, prompting an employee walkout. According to France 24, the mayor of Paris has ordered an investigation into the incident. The group, Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), had visited the landmark on Saturday, and female employees and contractors were told not to enter or cross certain areas, with some being replaced by male colleagues, as reported by IOL.\n\nThe Eiffel Tower's management company, Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), acknowledged that the visiting group had requested arrangements limiting \"interactions with women,\" which they said \"should not have been accepted.\" However, BAPS has disputed this, stating that the visit was coordinated with the tower's management due to the size of the delegation and was \"never, at any point, intended as a request rooted in gender,\" as per IOL. The incident occurred during a visit by the group, which had also included a temple inauguration in a Paris suburb attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to The Hindu.\n\nThe Eiffel Tower reopened on Tuesday morning, and Paris city officials have begun a formal inquiry into the incident. The union of Eiffel Tower employees had called the one-day strike in solidarity with female colleagues, who had been replaced by men at certain posts and instructed not to cross certain areas while the delegation was present, as reported by The Hindu and IOL.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Local France",
        "title": "Eiffel Tower closes as staff strike over exclusion of women during VIP visit",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/eiffel-tower-closes-as-staff-strike-over-exclusion-of-women-during",
        "published": "2026-09-07T15:03:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "Eiffel Tower scandal: How a Hindu sect’s visit sparked an uproar in France",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/eiffel-tower-scandal-how-a-hindu-sects-visit-sparked-an-uproar-in",
        "published": "2026-09-08T17:26:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Eiffel Tower women staff ‘sidelined’: BAPS apologises, MEA steers clear",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/eiffel-tower-women-staff-sidelined-baps-apologises-mea-steers-clear",
        "published": "2026-09-08T22:00:26.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}