Eiffel Tower closed after staff protest over removal of female workers

The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris was closed all day on Monday due to a staff strike, triggered by the removal of female workers from duty during a visit by a Hindu religious delegation.

According to Reuters and AFP reports, a delegation of about 100 members associated with the Hindu religious organisation BAPS visited the Eiffel Tower on Saturday. During the visit, female staff were asked to leave their posts and were replaced by male colleagues.

Trade union representative Diane Davoigne told Reuters that the delegation had requested that female staff be moved away so that male staff could take over. The incident sparked tension among workers over the weekend, leading to a meeting and strike action on Monday morning.

Workers said their main demands were for management to discuss the issue and ensure that no female staff member would face such a situation solely based on gender in the future.

The Eiffel Tower staff later issued a statement saying that removing female staff solely on the basis of gender and ordering them to stay out of sight during the delegation's visit was unacceptable.

The Eiffel Tower operating company SETE said the BAPS delegation had requested that the visit be arranged in a way that limited contact with female staff. The company acknowledged that it should not have accepted such conditions and stated that the conditions were not aligned with the company's values and its principle of gender equality.

SETE President Ariel Weil told AFP that the removal of female staff was clearly unacceptable and that the Eiffel Tower authorities are committed to republican values and gender equality.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire posted on social media platform X that a rapid investigation would be conducted. He acknowledged the workers' anger and found their discontent justified, adding that the full truth behind the incident must be uncovered quickly.

BAPS, in a statement, said the visit was arranged early to avoid inconvenience to other visitors due to the large size of the delegation. They maintained that no one was denied access to the Eiffel Tower and expressed regret if anyone was offended or faced any inconvenience.

National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet said welcoming others does not mean abandoning one's own values. In France, women are fully active in public life and no one can ask them to become invisible.

BAPS representatives were in France to attend the inauguration of a Hindu temple on the outskirts of Paris. The organisation is known to be close to India's ruling BJP party. A large temple established by the organisation near Paris was inaugurated on Sunday.

According to the Eiffel Tower website, approximately 7 million visitors come to see the landmark each year. It remained closed all day Monday but was expected to reopen on Tuesday as usual.