Eiffel Tower Reopens After Staff Strike Over Treatment Of Female Workers

The Eiffel Tower reopened on Tuesday after staff ended a walkout sparked by an incident involving female employees during a visit by members of a Hindu religious organisation.

The landmark was closed on Monday, September 7, after workers went on strike over claims that female colleagues were asked to step aside during a visit by members of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a global Hindu organisation headquartered in Ahmedabad, India.

According to AFP, visitors were seen passing through security checkpoints at the foot of the tower shortly before 9:30 am on Tuesday, while the monument’s official website confirmed that it was open to the public.

Workers reportedly objected to instructions that female employees should be sidelined, replaced or prevented from entering certain areas while the delegation was present.

The Eiffel Tower’s operating company, SETE, acknowledged that the delegation had made the request but said the conditions were unacceptable and inconsistent with the monument’s commitment to gender equality.

France’s Minister for Gender Equality and the Fight Against Discrimination, Aurore Bergé, also condemned the reported incident as “unacceptable”.

“In France, gender equality is neither negotiable nor subject to varying standards. It is a principle, and there are no exceptions to it,” Bergé wrote on X.

Thousands of Hindu devotees affiliated with BAPS have participated in various events and processions across France in recent days, according to information published on the organisation’s website.

The organisation later apologised over the incident, according to AFP.