The Eiffel Tower closed for a day after staff protested instructions that reportedly limited female employees during a Hindu delegation’s visit, prompting an investigation.
The Eiffel Tower reopened to visitors on Tuesday after a one-day closure triggered by a staff strike over the treatment of female employees during a visit by a Hindu religious delegation.
The dispute followed a September 5 visit by around 100 members of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a global Hindu organization headquartered in India. Employees and their union said female staff were instructed to limit their presence around the delegation, with some reportedly moved from their usual positions and replaced by male colleagues.
The Eiffel Tower’s operating company, Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), acknowledged that arrangements had been requested to limit “interactions with women” during the visit and said such conditions “should not have been accepted.”
BAPS, however, disputed the suggestion that it had sought gender-based restrictions and apologized for any hurt or inconvenience caused.
What Sparked the Eiffel Tower Row?
The controversy began after the BAPS delegation visited the landmark as part of events surrounding the inauguration of the organisation’s new Hindu temple near Paris.
According to the CGT trade union, female Eiffel Tower employees and some women working for contractors were instructed to make themselves unavailable in certain areas while the delegation was present. Some were allegedly asked to leave their posts, while men temporarily took over some positions.
Diane Davoine, a CGT representative, described the instructions as unacceptable and said female employees felt humiliated by what had happened.
The workers’ account was that the issue went beyond an ordinary request for special arrangements. They objected to instructions that, in their view, treated women differently because of their sex.
Why Did the Eiffel Tower Close?
The incident sparked anger among employees, who walked out on September 7, forcing the Eiffel Tower to close to visitors for the day.
The landmark’s website attributed the closure to “exceptional circumstances”, while staff and their union linked the disruption directly to the controversy over the instructions given during the BAPS visit.
The Eiffel Tower reopened on Tuesday after management met with employees and discussions were held over the incident.
What Did BAPS Say?
BAPS rejected the suggestion that it had deliberately sought to exclude women.
In a statement, the organisation said arrangements for the visit were made with the Eiffel Tower team to minimize disruption because of the size of the delegation.
BAPS said the arrangements were “never, at any point, intended as a request rooted in gender” and added that such a suggestion did not reflect its values.
The organisation also said that, to the best of its knowledge, nobody had been prevented from accessing the Eiffel Tower. It described its commitment as one of “equality, mutual respect, and service to all” and apologised to anyone who had been hurt or inconvenienced by the episode.
What Did Eiffel Tower Management Say?
SETE’s response has been more direct.
The company acknowledged that the visiting delegation had requested that the visit be organised in a way that limited “interactions with women” and accepted that such conditions should not have been agreed to.
That admission is central to the dispute because it suggests that, regardless of the delegation’s stated intention, instructions affecting female workers were in fact implemented at the Eiffel Tower.
The management response has also shifted some attention towards the way the venue handled the request and why such conditions were approved in the first place.
Why Did the BAPS Delegation Make Such a Request?
Reports about the incident have noted that BAPS spiritual leaders and monks follow religious practices that include celibacy.
However, BAPS itself has insisted that the arrangements at the Eiffel Tower were not intended as a gender-based request and said the interpretation of the incident did not represent its values.
That distinction is important because the public dispute is not simply about the religious practices of the visiting group. It is also about whether a private religious preference should affect how employees of a major public tourist attraction are assigned their jobs.
Paris Launches an Investigation
The incident has prompted a formal response from Paris authorities.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said an investigation would be launched and stressed that gender equality must apply throughout the city, including at its major historic landmarks.
French political leaders have also criticised the episode.
National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet said women should not be expected to step aside to accommodate visiting groups, while other officials described the reported instructions as incompatible with French principles of equality.
The investigation is expected to examine what instructions were issued, who approved them and how the incident was handled by the Eiffel Tower operator.
The BAPS Visit Was Part of a Larger Paris Programme
The Eiffel Tower visit took place during celebrations surrounding the opening of a major new BAPS Hindu temple near Paris.
The organisation has held a series of events connected to the temple’s inauguration, drawing thousands of devotees and community members.
BAPS is an international Hindu religious and civic organisation with temples and centres across several countries, including the United States and the UAE.
The Paris events gave the organisation a high-profile presence in France, making the Eiffel Tower incident particularly sensitive.
Why the Controversy Has Attracted Wider Attention
The dispute has quickly moved beyond a workplace disagreement because it involves questions about religion, gender equality and the treatment of women in public spaces.
For Eiffel Tower workers, the central issue is whether any visiting delegation should be able to influence the gender of employees performing normal duties.
For BAPS, the organisation’s position is that the visit was coordinated to reduce disruption and was not intended to discriminate against women.
And for SETE, the controversy has raised questions about why a request involving interactions with female staff was accepted at all.
The investigation will ultimately have to establish what happened between those positions.
Eiffel Tower Reopens After One-Day Closure
The Eiffel Tower is now operating normally again after the September 7 shutdown.
The landmark attracts roughly seven million visitors a year, making even a single day of closure significant for tourists and businesses around the site. It has also experienced previous work stoppages, including a six-day closure in February 2024 during a dispute over maintenance and wages.
This latest closure was unusual for a different reason. It was triggered not by pay or maintenance, but by a dispute over how female employees were treated during a private religious delegation’s visit.
The immediate disruption has ended, but the controversy is likely to continue until the investigation clarifies exactly how the arrangement was made and who was responsible for it.
Source: Gulf News
Photo: DW/ Image: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP
