The Eiffel Tower was closed to the public on Monday after staff went on strike to protest the exclusion of female employees during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation the previous Saturday. Workers condemned what they described as instructions that had led female staff to be "sidelined, replaced and rendered invisible" on the basis of their gender, according to a statement from the CGT trade union. The tower, one of the world's most visited landmarks welcoming nearly seven million visitors a year, was shut for the entire day before reopening on Tuesday.

The visiting group was a delegation of around 100 people linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a global Hindu spiritual movement with temples in cities including London, Los Angeles and Sydney. The visit coincided with wider celebrations around the consecration of BAPS's first major temple in France, built in Bussy-Saint-Georges, approximately 30 kilometres east of Paris and described as the largest Hindu temple in Europe. According to union representative Diane Davoine, as the delegation arrived, women were told to leave their posts. "Some were asked to leave their places of work and withdraw to other areas. In some posts they were replaced by men," the CGT statement read, adding that female employees were also instructed not to pass through certain areas while the delegation was present.

The Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), the company that operates the monument, confirmed that the delegation had requested the visit be organised to limit "interactions with women". It acknowledged that "these conditions should not have been accepted" and were "not in line with SETE's values, nor with the principles of equality between men and women". SETE president Ariel Weil, who also serves as an elected official in Paris, said no religious grounds could justify gender-based discrimination during such a reception and pledged to face the consequences. BAPS, for its part, issued an apology on social media for "any pain or inconvenience caused", stating that it "believes in the universal values of mutual respect and service".

The incident triggered a swift and broad political reaction across France. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire announced an investigation and declared that equality between men and women "will never stop at the foot of our historical monuments". French Equality Minister Aurore Bergé stated that "no dogma, no religion is above the laws of the Republic". Several figures positioning themselves for next year's presidential election also weighed in: far-right leader Marine Le Pen and former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal both insisted that no culture or belief system could dictate women's place in French public life. Former Prime Minister Michel Barnier added that women in France are "not hidden" and "not ignored".

The episode has raised broader questions about the boundaries between accommodating religious practices and upholding gender equality in French public institutions. France's strict secular tradition, known as laïcité, places strong emphasis on the equal treatment of all citizens in public spaces, making the management's initial acceptance of the delegation's conditions particularly striking to observers and politicians alike. The tower's management has since apologised to workers, and operations resumed normally on Tuesday.