• The Eiffel Tower was closed after female staff were sidelined during a visit by a Hindu delegation.
• Staff protests led to a meeting with management, resulting in the site’s temporary closure.
• French officials and union representatives condemned the incident, stressing gender equality.

The Eiffel Tower was closed on September 7 due to a staff strike protesting the alleged removal of female employees during the visit of a Hindu religious group associated with the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). Staff claimed women were instructed to leave their workstations as part of conditions set by the visiting delegation, which reportedly requested limited "interactions with women" during their tour of the iconic monument, according to Le Monde and IndiaTimes.

Union representative Diane Davoine expressed that the treatment of female staff, who were "made invisible because of their sex," was deeply humiliating for the employees involved. Following rising tensions over the weekend, employees decided to strike to ensure no one would be treated this way again. As a result, the Eiffel Tower operated under "exceptional circumstances" and was closed for the day, as reported by BBC and Al Jazeera.

The company's president, Ariel Weil, acknowledged the delegation's request should never have been entertained, asserting it contradicted the foundational values upheld at the Eiffel Tower. The city’s mayor, Emmanuel Grégoire, promised a swift investigation into the incident, stating, "Equality between women and men will never stop at the foot of our historical monuments," as emphasized in statements from both Le Monde and CBS News.

The BAPS organization later issued an apology for any "pain or inconvenience caused" during their visit, affirming that they had coordinated their schedule with the Eiffel Tower management to minimize disruption. However, BAPS maintained that at no point were visitors prevented from accessing the tower, indicating contradictory perspectives regarding the event, reported by IndiaTimes and BBC.