Eiffel Tower shuts down as staff strike over female employees being sidelined for Hindu delegation

The Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors on Monday, after monument staff staged a strike to protest instructions that required female employees to step aside and vacate their workstations during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation.

Why did Eiffel Tower staff go on strike?

The controversy stems from a Saturday visit by a delegation of approximately 100 people affiliated with the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement, which was in France to inaugurate its first major temple in the Paris suburbs. According to union representatives and employee statements, management issued directives ordering female staff—both directly employed by operating company SETE and third-party contractors—to leave their posts, withdraw to secluded areas, or be replaced by male colleagues to minimize interaction with the delegation.

Staff representatives strongly condemned the instructions, criticizing the "sidelining, replacing, and making invisible" of female workers based on gender. Tensions escalated over the weekend, leading employees to hold an emergency assembly on Monday morning to demand accountability, prompting management to delay and ultimately cancel the day's operations.

How did operating management and French officials respond?

Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), the operating company that manages the landmark, acknowledged that representatives from the delegation had requested conditions to limit interactions with women, admitting that management should have rejected the demands. SETE President Ariel Weil called the practice unacceptable, affirming the monument's commitment to French republican values and gender equality. Meanwhile, BAPS issued a statement apologizing for any distress caused, stating that the visit had been coordinated with monument teams to manage delegation size and asserting it was unaware of anyone being denied entry.

According to the BBC, the incident triggered widespread political condemnation across France. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire ordered an immediate municipal investigation into the incident, characterizing the employees' discontent as entirely legitimate. French Equality Minister Aurore Bergé, National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet, and prominent political figures across party lines emphasized that religious beliefs cannot override state principles of gender equality in public spaces.