Eiffel Tower Reopens as Row Erupts Over Female Staff Being Sidelined

The Eiffel Tower reopened to visitors on Tuesday following a staff walkout triggered by allegations that female employees were sidelined during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation.

The controversy followed a Saturday visit involving the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), whose delegation had reportedly requested that arrangements be made to minimise “interactions with women.”

SETE, the company operating the Eiffel Tower, confirmed that such a request had been made but acknowledged that “these conditions should not have been accepted.”

The Paris landmark, which welcomes nearly seven million visitors each year, was closed on Monday as employees and management met following the walkout.

It reopened on Tuesday morning, with visitors once again entering through security checkpoints at the base of the tower.

BAPS subsequently apologised for “any pain or inconvenience caused” by the episode.

“To the best of our knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access to the Eiffel Tower,” the organisation said on X.

It explained that the visit had been scheduled at the beginning of normal operating hours because of the size of the delegation, saying the arrangement was intended “to avoid disrupting or inconveniencing others.”

But Eiffel Tower workers strongly criticised the treatment of female staff during the visit.

In a statement, employees condemned “professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex.”

“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 workers said, adding that they were shocked by the instructions.

“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.”

BAPS opens major temple near Paris

The dispute came days after BAPS opened its first major temple in France near Paris on Sunday.

Its 93-year-old spiritual leader, Mahant Swami Maharaj, personally consecrated the temple.

BAPS says it operates a global network of more than 1,300 temples, with some having been inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Eiffel Tower controversy has also sparked political reactions in France.

Gender equality minister Aurore Berge expressed indignation, declaring: “In France, we do not ask women to erase themselves.”

Marine Le Pen, a far-right candidate in next year’s presidential election, also criticised the incident, saying France would “never accept that women’s presence be ‘limited’”.

Centrist presidential contender Gabriel Attal said: “In France, no culture, no belief, no religion, nothing and no one can come and dictate to women what their place should be.”

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