Paris: The Eiffel Tower was forced to close on Monday following a staff strike triggered by the removal of female employees during a private visit by a Hindu religious group, landmark management and worker unions confirmed.

The incident unfolds against the backdrop of the inauguration of continental Europe’s largest traditional Hindu temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges, constructed by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS).

A prominent global organisation with roots in Gujarat, BAPS is reportedly close to India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and reportedly places a strong emphasis on devotion to a living spiritual leader. In this instance, its 93-year-old guru whose religious practices reportedly restrict him from being in the presence of women. When his entourage requested a private tour of the landmark, management agreed to instructions that female staff and contractors stay out of sight.

The decision sparked swift backlash from employees, leading workers to launch a strike on Monday that shut down the Eiffel Tower in protest against the directives, drawing renewed global attention to the group following past legal scrutiny over labor practices at its international sites.

In a joint statement, Eiffel Tower staff condemned the “professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex” during the delegation's visit.

“Instructions were given to female employees of the Eiffel Tower and to female employees of contractors to make themselves invisible in order to welcome this delegation,” the staff statement read.

“Some were asked to leave their posts and withdraw to other areas. In some posts they were replaced by men. And all female employees were instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present.”

The operating company managing the iconic site, SETE, acknowledged receiving a request from the Hindu delegation to minimise “interactions with women,” admitting that “these conditions should not have been accepted”.

The management conceded that the arrangements “were not in line with SETE's values, nor with the principles of equality between men and women”, pledging to accept the “consequences”.

Speaking to AFP, SETE President Ariel Weil emphasised, “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.”

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire condemned the management's actions on X as “unacceptable” and announced the launch of an official investigation into the matter.

The closure drew fierce reactions across the French political spectrum.

Equality Minister Aurore Berge said, “In France, we do not ask women to erase themselves. No dogma, no religion is above the laws of the Republic.”

Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen stated that France would “never accept that women's presence be ‘limited’”.

Centrist leader Gabriel Attal asserted that “in France, no culture, no belief, no religion, nothing and no one can come and dictate to women what their place should be”.

The landmark, which attracts nearly seven million visitors annually, was closed throughout Monday but is scheduled to resume normal operations on Tuesday, according to employee representatives.
Meanwhile, the Hindu group involved, BAPS Mandir Swaminarayan Hindou de Paris, issued an official apology over the incident.
 

Addressing the situation, the organisation stated that they “understand the concerns expressed and take them very seriously”. Explaining the logistics of the visit, BAPS noted that due to the size of their delegation, the event was organized in coordination with the Eiffel Tower team during early opening hours to minimise disruption for other visitors, adding that “to the best of our knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access”. Nevertheless, extending their regrets for the controversy, the group offered “sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced”, reaffirming their commitment to “the universal values of mutual respect and service”.

 

(With AFP inputs)