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London. Paris's iconic Eiffel Tower was closed due to protest by employees. Employees had struck work to protest against women employees being “segregated” from their workplace during a visit by a Hindu religious group. The incident took place on Saturday, when around 100 people associated with Bochasan resident Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) had visited the Eiffel Tower.

Displeasure among Eiffel Tower staff

Diane Davoin, a representative of the labor union, told French television that during the delegation's visit on Saturday, female workers were “removed from their workplaces so that the delegation could pass through,” sparking anger among workers.

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CETE, the company that operates the Eiffel Tower, has acknowledged that the Hindu delegation had requested that its visit be organized in such a way that “interactions with women” are limited as much as possible. The report said Eiffel Tower employees issued a statement condemning “professional guidelines” that “led to the exclusion of female employees from the workplace based on their gender identity and replacing them with other employees.” The company said “these conditions should not have been accepted.”

Statement from BAPS organization

Meanwhile, the Paris-based BAPS Hindu Temple has issued a statement apologizing for the “pain or inconvenience it may have caused.” “We understand the concerns raised and take them very seriously,” it said in a statement released on social media platform X. Due to the large number of people in our delegation, the tour was organized at the beginning of the tower's normal opening hours in coordination with the Eiffel Tower team, keeping in mind the minimum inconvenience to other tourists.

“To our knowledge, no one was prevented from entering the Eiffel Tower at any time,” the statement said. “Nevertheless, we would like to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended or caused any inconvenience by this situation.”

French leaders called it unacceptable

Saturday's incident sparked outrage among employees and senior French leaders also criticized it. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégor said in a post on X that he was aware of the “outcry caused among the workers of the Eiffel Tower” and that agreeing to such conditions was “unacceptable”. National Assembly Speaker Yael Brown-Pieve also condemned the incident.

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