Eiffel Tower reopens after staff protest over reported sidelining of women
Paris authorities will investigate reports that female employees were removed or restricted during a private BAPS visit. The organisation has apologised, while the tower operator said the arrangements should not have been accepted.
The Eiffel Tower reopened on 8 September after staff action temporarily closed the Paris landmark over reported arrangements that sidelined female employees during a private visit by BAPS, a Hindu socio-spiritual organisation.
The tower operator, Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), said the visit had been organised to limit interactions with women. According to SETE and the staff union, some female employees were removed from posts, replaced by men or told not to cross certain areas while the delegation was present. SETE said the conditions should not have been accepted.
The source material does not establish who instructed staff to change their duties or whether BAPS directly demanded each measure. BAPS said it was unaware that anyone had been denied access to the Eiffel Tower and apologised to people who had been hurt or inconvenienced.
BAPS monks practise celibacy rules concerning contact and interaction with women, although the organisation’s wider members are not bound by those rules. The reported visit followed the virtual inauguration of a BAPS temple in Paris by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Paris authorities said an investigation would be launched. French political figures condemned the reported treatment of women and backed the workers’ protest, framing the dispute as a question of gender equality and the application of public standards.
