The operations at the Eiffel Tower were temporarily closed on Monday after employees staged a walkout to protest the sidelining of female staff during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation over the weekend. The landmark monument’s operating company, Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), delayed its opening as workers gathered to demand accountability over what unions described as gender-based discrimination in the workplace. Notices at the base of the Eiffel Tower told visitors that the delay was due to “operational reasons”.
What was the whole controversy?
The whole dispute at the Eiffel Tower centres on a private visit on Saturday by a delegation of around 100 people associated with the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (Baps). The union representatives said that female employees were instructed to leave their assigned workstations as the delegation moved through the monument, with male colleagues taking their places.
The CGT union formally condemned the decision, describing it as a set of “workplace instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced, and rendered invisible on the basis of their gender”.
Eiffel Tower's opening was delayed
The delegation was in France for celebrations linked to the inauguration of a Hindu temple in the Paris suburbs. Notably, the Eiffel Tower's opening was delayed as employees gathered for the meeting and several sign boards at the monument read: "The opening of the Eiffel Tower is delayed for operational reasons."
In the meantime, the BAPS has said the visit was coordinated with Eiffel Tower authorities to minimise disruption and ensure normal access for visitors. In a statement posted on X, the temple stated the large delegation's visit had been scheduled in consultation with Eiffel Tower management at the start of regular opening hours to reduce inconvenience to the public.
BAPS says it was not aware of any instance in which visitors were denied entry
Furthermore, the organisation said it was not aware of any instance in which visitors were denied entry to the monument during the visit. The organisation, however, expressed regret over the controversy, saying it sincerely apologised to anyone who may have felt hurt or inconvenienced by the situation.
The temple also added that it remains committed to the principles of mutual respect and service to others, and that it takes the concerns raised over the incident seriously.
Paris authorities order probe
After the matter came to limelight, Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grgoire has ordered an investigation into the allegations behind the protest at the Eiffel Tower, saying workers' concerns were justified and deserved urgent attention.
In a post on X, Grgoire said he had taken note of the anger expressed by employees and acknowledged that their frustration was legitimate. “It is unacceptable that such conditions could be tolerated,” he wrote, adding that they did not reflect either his values or those that the Eiffel Tower should represent.
He also stressed that everyone should be able to work and move freely without discrimination, regardless of gender, and said equality between women and men must be upheld everywhere in Paris, including at its most iconic landmarks. “It is essential that the circumstances that led to this mobilisation are fully clarified,” Grgoire said, pledging that an investigation would be launched as quickly as possible.
CGT trade union condemns incident
Apart from the Mayor, the CGT trade union condemned what it described as "workplace instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and rendered invisible on the basis of their gender".
Moreover, the Eiffel Tower's operator, SETE, acknowledged that the delegation had requested the visit be arranged to limit "interactions with women" and admitted that "these conditions should not have been accepted".
Controversy erupts over women's exclusion
The whole controversy drew a sharp response from Yael Braun-Pivet, president of France's National Assembly. "I refuse to accept that women should be told to step aside to meet the demands of foreign visitors," she wrote on X. "Welcoming others never means giving up our values. In France, women are fully present in public life. No one tells them to become invisible," she added.
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