Eiffel Tower shutdown: Paris investigates claim women were sidelined for Hindu delegation
The Eiffel Tower was closed for the entire day on Monday, September 7, 2026, following a strike by staff who alleged that female employees were asked to step aside or make themselves "invisible" during a private visit by a delegation from a Hindu spiritual organisation. The incident has triggered an investigation and widespread condemnation from political leaders across France.
The delegation was from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a socio-spiritual organisation based in India. Their visit to the iconic Paris monument coincided with a cultural boat procession on the Seine river organised by the group. BAPS was in France to consecrate its first major temple near Paris, a ceremony held a day earlier on Sunday.
Eiffel Tower staff, in a statement, condemned what they described as "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex". "Some were asked to leave their posts and withdraw to other areas. In some posts, they were replaced by men. And all female employees were instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present," the statement said.
The operating company, SETE, which runs the Eiffel Tower, acknowledged that the Hindu delegation had requested the visit to be organised so as to limit "interactions with women". SETE added that these conditions "should not have been accepted". "These conditions were not in line with SETE's values, nor with the principles of equality between men and women," the company said, pledging to accept the consequences.
SETE president Ariel Weil, a socialist elected official in Paris, told AFP, "It is clearly not an acceptable practice. I restate the Eiffel Tower's commitment to republican values and to the equality of men and women." Paris's socialist Mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, said on X that it was "unacceptable" that the Tower management agreed to the conditions, and confirmed that an investigation was being launched.
French Equality Minister Aurore Berge reacted sharply, writing on X: "In France, we do not ask women to erase themselves. No dogma, no religion is above the laws of the Republic." Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate, said France would "never accept that women's presence be 'limited'". Gabriel Attal, a centrist rival in the presidential race, stated that "in France, no culture, no belief, no religion, nothing and no one can come and dictate to women what their place should be".
BAPS denied the allegations on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. In a post on X, the group said, "To our knowledge, at no time was access to the Eiffel Tower denied to anyone. Nevertheless, we wish to offer our sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by this situation." The organisation explained that, given the large size of its delegation, the visit had been coordinated with Eiffel Tower teams at the beginning of regular opening hours "to limit as much as possible" any disruption.
The incident has drawn attention to the relationship between religious practices and France's strict secular values, known as laïcité. France upholds gender equality as a core legal principle, and several politicians have stressed that no cultural or religious customs can override those laws. The investigation is expected to determine who gave the alleged instructions and whether any discriminatory practice occurred.
The Eiffel Tower, which receives nearly seven million visitors each year, was expected to reopen on Tuesday as normal, according to a staff representative. The closure and the ensuing controversy have sparked discussions about how private visits and cultural sensitivities should be handled at national monuments, with many insisting that public institutions must not compromise on constitutional principles.
