Eiffel Tower closes as staff strike over exclusion of female workers during Hindu delegation visit
The Eiffel Tower remained closed on Monday after employees walked out to protest instructions given to female staff to step aside during a private visit by a Hindu delegation on Saturday.
Strike closes Eiffel Tower
Staff at the Eiffel Tower walked out on Monday, September 7, 2026, forcing the monument to close to visitors for the day. While public signage at the base and on the official website attributed the disruption to operational reasons, employees gathered for a general meeting in the morning to protest the treatment of female staff during a private visit two days earlier. Trade union representatives, including delegates from the CGT, reported that female workers had received instructions to leave their workstations or withdraw into service quarters so that male colleagues could take their places. Diane Davoine, a union representative, explained how staff reached the decision to halt work after internal discussions.
As the delegation passed through, women were asked to leave their workstations so that men could take their places.
Weekend delegation from BAPS
The controversy stemmed from a private visit on Saturday, September 5, 2026, involving approximately 100 members of the Hindu religious organization Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). The tour concluded 13 days of cultural festivities in the Paris region, which included a parade of 14 floats through city streets to the foot of the tower. On Sunday, the organization inaugurated a new temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges in the Seine-et-Marne department, which represents the largest Hindu temple in continental Europe. During the Saturday visit, delegation leaders requested that access to the third floor be organized exclusively with male staff, a condition that on-site management agreed to fulfill.
- BAPS delegation of 100 people visits the third floor as female staff are asked to step aside
- BAPS inaugurates a Hindu temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges after 13 days of festivities
- Staff strike closes the Eiffel Tower as SETE apologizes and Paris authorities open an inquiry
Operator apology and municipal investigation
The operating company, Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), published a statement on Monday acknowledging a managerial error and issuing an apology to the workforce. SETE stated that delegation representatives had asked to restrict interactions with women during the spiritual leader's tour, but admitted that managers should have refused the request because no protocol, cultural, or religious pretext justifies deviating from gender equality. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire supported the employees' protest as legitimate and announced that municipal authorities would initiate a formal inquiry as soon as possible.
It is not acceptable that such conditions can be tolerated. These are neither my values nor those that the Eiffel Tower must uphold, where everyone must be able to move and act freely, without distinction between women and men.
Political reactions
The incident drew reactions from several French political figures. Yaël Braun-Pivet, the president of the National Assembly, insisted that the country's public institutions must not compromise their principles for external guests. Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Île-de-France regional council, said the visit had been coordinated with the tourism development agency Atout France and stated that she informed BAPS representatives that such requests violate French republican laws. Former prime minister Michel Barnier described the exclusion as unacceptable, adding that public workers must not be hidden or erased.
I refuse to accept that women should be told to step aside to meet the demands of foreign visitors. Welcoming others never means giving up our values. In France, women are fully present in public life. No one tells them to become invisible.
