08 September,2026 02:29 PM IST | Paris | mid-day online correspondent
Eiffel Tower employees condemned what they described as "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex". FILE PIC
The Eiffel Tower reopened on Tuesday after staff walked out over the removal of women employees during a visit by a Hindu religious group, which later apologised for any pain or inconvenience caused.
According to news agency AFP, visitors were passing through security checkpoints at the foot of the tower shortly before 9.30 am local time on Tuesday. The Eiffel Tower's website also said the iconic monument was "open today".
The protest followed a private visit on September 5 by around 100 people linked to BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha), a Hindu organisation, who were in France for celebrations surrounding the inauguration of a temple in the Paris suburbs.
Diane Davoine, a union representative, told French television that female workers had been "moved away from their workstations as the delegation passed by" during the visit.
Eiffel Tower employees condemned what they described as "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex".
SETE, the company that runs the Eiffel Tower, acknowledged that the Hindu delegation had requested that the visit be organised to limit "interactions with women", adding that "these conditions should not have been accepted."
The BAPS Hindu temple in Paris said the private visit had been coordinated with the Eiffel Tower's management and scheduled at the beginning of regular opening hours to minimise inconvenience to other visitors.
In a statement on social media platform X, BAPS said access to the Eiffel Tower was never denied to anyone and offered its "sincere apologies" to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by the situation.
"We understand the concerns expressed and take them very seriously. Given the size of our delegation, the visit was organised in coordination with the Eiffel Tower teams, at the start of normal opening hours, to limit as much as possible any disruption for other visitors," the statement said, adding, "To our knowledge, at no time was access to the Eiffel Tower denied to anyone. Nevertheless, we wish to offer our sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by this situation."
"We are deeply committed to the universal values of mutual respect and service to others. We respect the concerns raised and take them very seriously," it further read.
The incident drew criticism from senior French politicians.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said an investigation would be launched "as soon as possible".
In a post on X, he said, "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."
"It is urgent that all light be shed on the facts that led to this protest," Gregoire wrote.
In another post, he said it was "unacceptable" that such conditions had been agreed to.
"These are not my values, nor are they the values that the Eiffel Tower should uphold, where everyone must be able to move about and act freely, without distinction between women and men," he wrote.
French equality minister Aurore Berge also reacted on X, saying, "In France, we do not ask women to erase themselves. No dogma, no religion is above the laws of the Republic."
Criticising the incident, far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said France would "never accept that women's presence be 'limited'."
Yael Braun-Pivet, the president of the National Assembly, also condemned the incident.
"I refuse to accept that women should be told to step aside to meet the demands of foreign visitors," she said. "Welcoming others never means giving up our values. In France, women are fully present in public life. No one tells them to become invisible there."
The Eiffel Tower, which attracts nearly seven million visitors annually, remained closed throughout Monday after the staff walkout but reopened as usual on Tuesday.
(With AFP, PTI, and IANS inputs)
