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

ByDan Sales and Mimi Swaby, Global affairs reporter.

Key points

• A delegation of around 100 individuals linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) group visited the landmark in the French capital on Saturday.
• It has temples in major cities worldwide, including London, Los Angeles and Sydney.
• Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire remarked there would be an investigation into the circumstances of the visit.
• French hard-right leader Marine Le Pen remarked: "In France, we will never accept that the presence of women be 'limited'."
• Staff union representative Diane Davoine notes as they arrived at the monument, women were informed to move.

In practice, the Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after staff went on strike over female workers being removed for the visit of a Hindu religious group, workers and management remarked.

For context, a delegation of around 100 individuals linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) group visited the landmark in the French capital on Saturday.

"During the visit of this delegation, women were asked to leave their places of work in order to place men there, " she informed Reuters. Davoine additionally stated management had since apologised to workers over the incident.

"So that absolutely does not go down well with the employees, with women obviously, who are all humiliated by what happened, by the way some were treated, " Davoine remarked.

She continued: "Tensions mounted over the weekend, so this morning, the employees decided to meet: first, to open a dialogue with management, and second, to ensure that women are never treated this way at the company again."

Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), the firm that operates the monument in Paris, confirmed the delegation had asked the visit be organised to limit "interactions with women", according to the AFP news agency.

For context, the firm informed AFP that "these conditions should not have been accepted".

They continued they "were not in line with SETE's values, nor with the principles of equality between men and women".

SETE president Ariel Weil remarked: It is clearly not an acceptable practice.

"I restate the Eiffel Tower's commitment to republican values and to the equality of men and women."

Meanwhile, the BBC has contacted the Union Confédération générale du travail (CGT) for a response.

BAPS consecrated its first major temple in France on Sunday, in the suburbs of Paris.

In an official note on X, the BAPS temple in Paris remarked their trip was "arranged in conjunction with the Eiffel Tower team at the start of normal opening hours to avoid disrupting or inconveniencing others".

It apologised "for any pain or inconvenience caused", adding "we believe in the universal values of mutual respect and service".

On its website, BAPS describes itself as a "spiritual, volunteer-driven fellowship dedicated to improving society" through Hindu values.

"I am taking note of the anger expressed by the employees of the Eiffel Tower, and I want to tell them that their discontent is legitimate, " he wrote on X.

"Equality between women and men will never stop at the foot of our historical monuments, nor anywhere in this city. It must be applied everywhere, for everyone."

Former centre-right French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. This person has remarked he will run for the presidency next year, stated: "In France, no culture, no belief, no worship, nothing nor anyone can come to dictate to women their place."

Yaël Braun-Pivet, the president of France's National Assembly, remarked: "I refuse to allow women to be compelled to step aside in order to meet the demands of foreign visitors."

For now, eiffel Tower shut by staff protest after women moved for religious visit remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.