The Eiffel Tower closed on Monday after staff struck over Eiffel Tower Hindu visit arrangements that removed women from their places of work. The closure followed a weekend dispute tied to a delegation linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, with employees now pressing management to change how such visits are handled.
Diane Davoine, a staff union representative, said: “During the visit of this delegation, women were asked to leave their places of work in order to place men there.” She also said: “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.”
SETE and Paris react
On Monday, the Eiffel Tower opened with a delay for operational reasons after the strike began. Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel said the conditions around the visit should not have been accepted and that they were not in line with its values or with the principles of equality between men and women.
Ariel Weil said: “It is clearly not an acceptable practice.” He added: “I restate the Eiffel Tower's commitment to republican values and to the equality of men and women.”
BAPS visit and weekend dispute
On Saturday, around 100 people linked to BAPS visited the Eiffel Tower. The dispute grew over the request to limit interactions with women during that visit, according to the tower operator’s account of the arrangement.
The BAPS temple in Paris said the trip was arranged in conjunction with the Eiffel Tower team at the start of normal opening hours to avoid disrupting or inconveniencing others, and apologised for any pain or inconvenience caused. The temple also said: “we believe in the universal values of mutual respect and service.”
Employees open dialogue
Diane Davoine said: “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.” That puts the next move inside the company, where workers are seeking a direct response to a request that SETE itself said should not have been accepted.
On Sunday, BAPS consecrated its first major temple in France in the suburbs of Paris. Who made the decision to move the female workers during the visit is not explained, leaving the most immediate unresolved point inside the tower’s own management chain.
