The operating company that manages the Paris monument said a Hindu religious delegation had requested that “interactions with women” be limited during their visit. Posted on September 8, 2026 September 8, 2026 The Eiffel Tower reopened after staff walked out due to the elimination of female staff during a weekend visit by a Hindu religious delegation. The operating company that manages the Paris monument, SETE, acknowledged that the group had requested that Saturday’s visit be organized to limit “interactions with women” and said that “these conditions should not have been accepted.” Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend list He said the monument would reopen on Tuesday following a meeting the previous day between staff and management over the incident, which also drew criticism from French politicians. On its website, the Eiffel Tower said the iconic monument was “open today.” Shortly before 09:30 (07:30 GMT), visitors were passing through security checks at the foot of the tower, a journalist from the AFP news agency reported. The spiritual movement Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) apologized for “any pain or inconvenience caused” by his visit. “As far as we know, at no time was anyone denied access to the Eiffel Tower,” the organization wrote on social media. “Despite the size of our delegation, the visit was organized in collaboration with the Eiffel Tower team at the beginning of normal operating hours to avoid disrupting or disturbing others.” Eiffel Tower staff said in a statement that they condemned “the professional instructions that led to female employees being marginalized, replaced and invisible due to their sex” during the delegation’s visit. certain areas while the delegation was present,” the staff said, adding that they were shocked to have been put in such a situation. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said an investigation would be launched “as soon as possible.” In a social media post, he said he was aware of employees’ anger and agreed their dissatisfaction was legitimate. Yael Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, wrote in a social media post: “Welcoming others never means giving up our values. In France, women are fully present in public life. Nobody tells them to become invisible.”
