The Eiffel Tower remained closed on Monday following a strike by staff members protesting the treatment of female workers during a visit by a religious delegation. The incident occurred on Saturday when approximately 100 members of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) group visited the Paris landmark.
According to union representative Diane Davoine, female employees were instructed to vacate their work positions to allow male staff to fill those roles during the delegation’s time at the monument. Davoine characterized the incident as humiliating for workers, particularly women, and noted that tensions escalated over the weekend as staff grew increasingly dissatisfied with how the situation was handled.
SETE, the company operating the Eiffel Tower, acknowledged that the delegation had requested the visit be arranged to minimize interactions with women. The firm stated that accepting these conditions was inappropriate and contradicted its commitment to gender equality and republican values. SETE president Ariel Weil condemned the practice as unacceptable and reaffirmed the monument’s dedication to principles of equal treatment between men and women.
The BAPS organization responded through a statement indicating that the visit had been coordinated to avoid disrupting other visitors and that it values mutual respect and service. The group, which operates temples globally and consecrated its first major French temple in suburban Paris on Sunday, expressed regret for any inconvenience caused.
French political figures responded to the incident. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire announced an investigation and validated employees’ concerns, emphasizing that gender equality cannot be compromised at historical monuments or elsewhere in the city. Additional political leaders, including Marine Le Pen, Gabriel Attal, and National Assembly president Yaël Braun-Pivet, issued statements rejecting any accommodation of requirements that would restrict women’s presence or rights in France.
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