Visitors to the Eiffel Tower were disappointed to find the attraction closed on 7 Sept due to a staff strike.
This followed alleged discrimination against female staff during a religious Hindu group’s visit to the site over the weekend.
The visit reportedly caused female staff to be temporarily replaced with their male colleagues.
According to DW, Eiffel Tower staff also released a statement condemning the decision to sideline female staff during the visit.
That weekend, around 100 men from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement went to the tower.
The group, which has close ties to India’s ruling conservative Hindu nationalist party, had consecrated their first temple in France, near Paris, on 6 Sept.
Source: @nabilajamal_ on X
SETE, the company that operates the tower, claimed that the group had requested to limit “interactions with women” during their visit.
They also acknowledged after the fact that these requests should not have been accepted.
According to Euro News, female staff were moved away from their work stations as the group passed by and were replaced with their male coworkers.
BAPS, the religious group at the centre of the controversy, has also responded to news of the strike in a post on X.
They said they coordinated the visit with Eiffel Tower operators because of the size of their group and did not want to disrupt other visitors.
“To the best of our knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access to the Eiffel Tower,” they wrote, adding:
Nevertheless, we sincerely apologise for any pain or inconvenience caused. We believe in the universal values of mutual respect and service.
Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire also expressed support for the workers, saying that such conditions were unacceptable.
“These are neither my values, nor those that the Eiffel Tower should uphold,” he wrote on X. He also called for an investigation into the matter.
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Featured image adapted from @nabilajamal_ on X and @LeParisien_75 on X.