The iconic Eiffel Tower reopened to visitors on Tuesday after a one-day closure caused by a staff strike following allegations that female employees were told to leave their posts during a visit by a Hindu religious delegation.
The controversy erupted when a group of around 100 members of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) visited the Eiffel Tower on Saturday. The delegation was in France for the inauguration of a major BAPS Hindu temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges, east of Paris.
According to Eiffel Tower employees, female staff members were instructed to leave their workstations and remain away from areas where the delegation was present. In some cases, women were reportedly replaced by male colleagues. The incident prompted employees to protest.
Staff union representative Diane Davoine said female employees were asked to leave their workplaces and felt “humiliated.” The incident resulted in a walkout that shut the tower entirely on Monday.
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Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), the company that operates the tower, acknowledged that the delegation had requested that Saturday’s visit be organized to limit “interactions with women” and admitted that these conditions “should not have been accepted.”
SETE President Ariel Weil, who is also mayor of Paris Centre, said managers had been “overzealous” in following the group’s request and did not consider whether it was inappropriate. He said an internal investigation would identify who was responsible and ensure such an incident never happens again.
The episode has triggered swift condemnation from French officials. National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet wrote, “Welcoming others never means giving up our values. In France, women are fully present in public life. No one tells them to become invisible.”
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said an investigation would be launched to establish what happened and determine how the decision was made. He agreed that employees’ dissatisfaction over the incident was legitimate.
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Meanwhile, BAPS wrote on social media, “To the best of our knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access to the Eiffel Tower. Due to the size of our delegation, the visit was arranged in conjunction with the Eiffel Tower team at the start of normal operating hours to avoid disrupting or inconveniencing others.” The organization also apologized for “any pain or inconvenience caused” by its visit.
BAPS is a denomination of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, a Vaishnavite sect of Hinduism. Founded by Shastriji Maharaj in Gujarat in 1907, the organization was established with a temple in Bochasan, from which it takes its name. Since then, BAPS has expanded into a global network with large traditional temples in the U.S., U.K., Abu Dhabi and now France.
In the U.S., the organization built a temple in New Jersey. BAPS strictly separates men and women in public places and during some temple rituals. The organization reportedly has a policy that its swamis, who have vowed celibacy, cannot have contact with women. This is part of an eight-fold restraint they are required to follow.