The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday amid a strike by its employees.
According to workers and management, female staff members were asked to leave their workstations when a delegation linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) visited the landmark in Paris on Saturday.
The delegation consisted of around 100 people affiliated with BAPS, a Hindu spiritual organisation. Diane D'Auven, a representative of the employees’ union, told Reuters that women had been asked to move away when the group arrived.
“During the visit, women were asked to leave their workstations so that male employees could be assigned there,” she said.
D'Auven said management later apologised to employees over the incident. BAPS said the visit had been arranged in advance with the Eiffel Tower management and denied that anyone had been denied access.
The organisation, however, apologised to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by the arrangements.
D'Auven said the incident had deeply upset employees, particularly women, who felt humiliated by the way some of them had been treated.
She said tensions continued to rise over the weekend, leading employees to hold a meeting on Tuesday morning. The first objective was to begin discussions with management, while the second was to ensure that women would not be treated in this manner in the future.
According to AFP, the company that manages the Eiffel Tower, Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), confirmed that the delegation had requested arrangements designed to minimise contact with women during the visit.
SETE told AFP that such conditions should not have been accepted. The company said the arrangements were not compatible with its values or with the principle of equality between men and women.
SETE President Ariel Weil described the conduct as “clearly unacceptable” and reaffirmed the Eiffel Tower’s commitment to democratic values and gender equality.
The BAPS temple in Paris said on X that it had coordinated with the Eiffel Tower management for the visit to take place when the tower opened, with the intention of avoiding inconvenience to other visitors.
The temple apologised for any difficulties caused by the arrangements and said it believed in the universal values of mutual respect and service.
BAPS describes itself on its website as a spiritual, volunteer-driven organisation working for social improvement through Hindu values. It operates temples in several major cities around the world, including London, Los Angeles and Sydney.
Reactions in France
The incident has also sparked criticism on social media, with politicians and users condemning reports that female employees were removed from their positions and describing the move as contrary to France’s principles of gender equality and women’s freedom.
Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said the circumstances surrounding the visit would be investigated.
“I understand the anger of the Eiffel Tower employees and want to tell them that their protest is justified,” he said. He added that equality between men and women should not be compromised at France’s historic landmarks or anywhere else in the city.
French far right leader Marine Le Pen said France would never accept restrictions on women’s presence.
Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said no culture, religion, form of worship or individual had the right to decide what place women should occupy in France.
French National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet said she would not accept foreign visitors’ demands being met by forcing women to step aside.
Former prime minister and lawmaker Michel Barnier said the Eiffel Tower belongs collectively to all French citizens and that any instruction to remove women from the site was unacceptable.
“We do not hide women or make them disappear from view. We respect them and defend their freedom,” he wrote on X.
Indian researcher and author Rajiv Malhotra also criticised the incident, saying that if BAPS swamis could not be near women, they should avoid public places themselves rather than asking women to leave.
Indian journalist Sanket Upadhyay also criticised what he described as discriminatory rules concerning women at Swaminarayan temples.
He said his family had once left a Swaminarayan temple in the 1990s after his mother was not allowed to enter. He questioned whether such rules should now extend to international tourist attractions.
The controversy comes as BAPS held an event in Paris on Sunday related to its first major temple in the French capital.
