BAPS delegation visit triggers Eiffel Tower strike over female employee sidelining

The Eiffel Tower in Paris was shut on September 7 after employees downed tools in protest over how female staff were treated during a private visit by a BAPS delegation of around 100 people. The group was in France for events linked to the inauguration of a Hindu temple near Paris.

Eiffel Tower employees alleged they were instructed to keep female workers away from certain areas during the visit. Staff condemned the "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced, and rendered invisible based on their gender."

SETE, the tower's operator, acknowledged the Hindu delegation had requested arrangements limiting "interactions with women" and admitted accepting such conditions was wrong. SETE president Ariel Weil said the practice was unacceptable and reaffirmed the tower's commitment to equality between men and women.