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The tower, which receives nearly seven million visitors a year, remained closed throughout Monday and was expected to reopen on Tuesday.
Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Hindu monks take part in a religious ceremony in front of the Eiffel Tower. (AFP photo)
The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after staff went on strike over instructions to move female employees away from their posts during a recent private visit by a Hindu religious group..
The delegation, about 100 people linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), visited the Paris landmark on Saturday. The visit came on the same day as a cultural boat procession on the Seine organised by the group.
Eiffel Tower staff said female employees were asked to leave certain workstations, with some replaced by male colleagues, while others were told not to enter areas used by the delegation.
Female Staff Were Told To Be ‘Invisible’
The company operating the iconic landmark, SETE, acknowledged that the delegation had asked for the visit to be arranged to limit “interactions with women”.
“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,” SETE said in their statement, adding they were shocked to have been put in such a situation.
“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,” it added.
‘Conditions Should Not Have Been Accepted’
SETE said such “conditions should not have been accepted” and were not in line with its values or France’s principle of equality between men and women.
SETE president Ariel Weil called the arrangement unacceptable and reaffirmed the Eiffel Tower’s commitment to equality.
“I restate the Eiffel Tower’s commitment to republican values and to the equality of men and women,” Weil said.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire also criticised the decision, calling it unacceptable that management had agreed to the delegation’s conditions. He said an investigation would be launched.
The tower, which receives nearly seven million visitors a year, remained closed throughout Monday and was expected to reopen on Tuesday.
BAPS Apologises For ‘Inconvenience’
BAPS, whose representatives were in France for events linked to the inauguration of a Hindu temple near Paris, said it took the concerns raised over the Eiffel Tower visit “very seriously”.
The organisation said the visit was arranged with the Eiffel Tower team at the start of normal opening hours because of the size of its delegation. The aim, it said, was to “limit as much as possible any disruption for other visitors”.
“To our knowledge, at no time was access to the Eiffel Tower denied to anyone,” BAPS said in its statement.
“Nevertheless, we wish to offer our sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by this situation,” it added, stressing its commitment to the “universal values of mutual respect and service to others”.
Political Leaders Condemn Action
The incident has triggered criticism across France, with politicians from different sides of the political spectrum speaking out.
Equality Minister Aurore Berge said women in France should not be asked to “erase themselves” and stressed that no religion or doctrine was above the laws of the Republic.
“In France, we do not ask women to erase themselves. No dogma, no religion is above the laws of the Republic,” she wrote.
Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said France would not accept restrictions on women’s presence.
Centrist politician Gabriel Attal also said “no culture, no belief, no religion, nothing and no one can come and dictate to women what their place should be.”
(With inputs from agencies)
Quick Answers
Ask News18The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday, September 7, 2026, due to a staff strike. Employees protested instructions that led female staff to be moved away from their posts during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation on Saturday, September 5, 2026.
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September 08, 2026, 04:36 IST
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