The Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors for an entire day on September 7 after staff went on strike over the removal of female employees from their workstations during a private visit by an Indian based Hindu spiritual organisation.
About 100 members of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a global Hindu organisation known for its temples, visited the Paris landmark on September 5 ahead of the inauguration of its first major temple in France.
Diane Davoine, a representative of the Eiffel Tower staff union, said that members of the delegation had asked for women to leave their workplaces so that male employees could take their positions.
“Women were asked to leave their places of work in order to place men there,” Davoine told media outlets.
She said tensions over the incident led employees to meet on September 7 to seek discussions with management and ensure that female staff would not be treated similarly again.
She added that management had apologised.
SETE, the company operating the Eiffel Tower, said BAPS had requested that the visit limit “interactions with women”.
The company acknowledged that such arrangements “should not have been accepted”, saying they conflicted with its values, including equality between women and men and neutrality.
BAPS said it had organised the visit with SETE at the beginning of normal opening hours to avoid disrupting other visitors.
“To the best of our knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access to the Eiffel Tower,” the organisation said in a statement on X.
“Nevertheless, we sincerely apologise for any pain or inconvenience caused. We believe in the universal values of mutual respect and service.”
Paris Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said the employees’ anger was legitimate and that the city will investigate the incident.
Davoine said staff, particularly female employees, felt humiliated by the way they had been t
