Investigation after female staff at Eiffel Tower replaced by men for religious visit

The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after staff went on strike over female workers being removed for the visit of a Hindu religious group, workers and management said.

A delegation of around 100 people linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) group visited the landmark in the French capital on Saturday.

Staff union representative Diane Davoine says as they arrived at the monument, women were told to move.

"During the visit of this delegation, women were asked to leave their places of work in order to place men there," she told Reuters. Davoine also said management had since apologised to workers over the incident.

"So that absolutely does not go down well with the employees, with women obviously, who are all humiliated by what happened, by the way some were treated," Davoine said.

She added: "Tensions mounted over the weekend, so this morning, the employees decided to meet: first, to open a dialogue with management, and second, to ensure that women are never treated this way at the company again."

Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), the company that operates the monument in Paris, confirmed the delegation had asked the visit be organised to limit "interactions with women", according to the AFP news agency.

The firm told AFP that "these conditions should not have been accepted".

They added they "were not in line with SETE's values, nor with the principles of equality between men and women".

SETE president Ariel Weil said: "It is clearly not an acceptable practice.

"I restate the Eiffel Tower's commitment to republican values and to the equality of men and women."

The BBC has contacted the Union Confédération générale du travail (CGT) for a response.

BAPS consecrated its first major temple in France on Sunday, in the suburbs of Paris.

In a statement on X, the BAPS temple in Paris said their trip was "arranged in conjunction with the Eiffel Tower team at the start of normal opening hours to avoid disrupting or inconveniencing others".

It apologised "for any pain or inconvenience caused", adding "we believe in the universal values of mutual respect and service".

On its website, BAPS describes itself as a "spiritual, volunteer-driven fellowship dedicated to improving society" through Hindu values.

It has temples in major cities around the world, including London, Los Angeles and Sydney.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said there would be an investigation into the circumstances of the visit.

"I am taking note of the anger expressed by the employees of the Eiffel Tower, and I want to tell them that their discontent is legitimate," he wrote on X.

"Equality between women and men will never stop at the foot of our historical monuments, nor anywhere in this city. It must be applied everywhere, for everyone."

French hard-right leader Marine Le Pen said: "In France, we will never accept that the presence of women be 'limited'."

Former centre-right French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who has said he will run for the presidency next year, said: "In France, no culture, no belief, no worship, nothing nor anyone can come to dictate to women their place."

Yaël Braun-Pivet, the president of France's National Assembly, said: "I refuse to allow women to be compelled to step aside in order to meet the demands of foreign visitors."