The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday following an employee walkout. Staff protested after female workers were reportedly sidelined during a private tour conducted for a delegation associated with the Hindu organisation Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS).
The incident reportedly occurred on Saturday, September 5, when female employees and contract workers were allegedly instructed to leave their usual workstations, move to secondary areas and avoid certain routes to minimise interactions with members of the predominantly male delegation. Male colleagues temporarily replaced some women at their posts.
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Employees condemned the arrangements as discriminatory, saying they had been “sidelined, replaced and made invisible” because of their sex. Tensions over the incident culminated in a staff protest and walkout on Monday, forcing the landmark to close, as per The Times of India.
The Eiffel Tower operator, Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), acknowledged that the delegation had requested arrangements limiting interactions with women. The company said accepting such conditions was wrong and contrary to its values and principles of gender equality. SETE President Ariel Weil confirmed that an internal investigation had been launched.
BAPS expressed regret for any pain or inconvenience caused, saying the visit had been arranged around opening hours because of the delegation's size and to avoid disrupting other visitors. The organisation said that, to its knowledge, no one had been denied access to the tower and denied deliberately excluding women.
French officials condemned the reported arrangements. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire described them as unacceptable, while National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet and Gender Equality Minister Aurore Bergé stressed that women must not be made invisible or restricted to accommodate religious or cultural demands.
The BAPS delegation was visiting France amid events surrounding the inauguration of a major Hindu temple near Paris. Authorities are investigating the Eiffel Tower incident, and the allegations against the delegation have not been independently established.
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