London | The iconic Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after the staff staged a walkout over female employees being "moved away" for the visit of a Hindu religious group, authorities said.
The incident took place on Saturday during a visit by around 100 people linked to BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha), Euronews reported on Monday.
Diane Davoine, a union representative, told French TV that female workers had been "moved away from their workstations as the delegation passed by" during a visit on Saturday.
Eiffel Tower employees have condemned in a statement what they described as "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex," the report added.
SETE, the company that runs the tower, has acknowledged that the Hindu delegation requested the trip be organised so as to limit "interactions with women," adding that "these conditions should not have been accepted." Meanwhile, the BAPS Hindu temple in Paris has released a statement apologising for "any pain or inconvenience caused."
"We understand the concerns expressed and take them very seriously. Given the size of our delegation, the visit was organised in coordination with the Eiffel Tower teams, at the start of normal opening hours, to limit as much as possible any disruption for other visitors," they posted the statement on X.
"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." "We are deeply committed to the universal values of mutual respect and service to others. We respect the concerns raised and take them very seriously." The incident on Saturday has sparked anger among staff and drawn criticism from senior French politicians.
In a post on X, Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said he was "aware of the outcry among the employees of the Eiffel Tower" and that it was "unacceptable" that such conditions were agreed to.
"These are not my values, nor are they the values that the Eiffel Tower should uphold, where everyone must be able to move about and act freely, without distinction between women and men," he wrote, adding that an investigation into the incident would be launched.
Yael Braun-Pivet, the president of the National Assembly, has also condemned the incident.
"I refuse to accept that women should be told to step aside to meet the demands of foreign visitors," she said. "Welcoming others never means giving up our values. In France, women are fully present in public life. No one tells them to become invisible there."