Eiffel Tower Closed After Women Staff Hidden From Hindu Delegation

The Eiffel Tower closed Monday after staff protested the sidelining of female employees during a weekend visit by a Hindu religious delegation. The operating company acknowledged the conditions 'should not have been accepted.'

• About 100 members of the BAPS Hindu group visited privately on Saturday.
• Female staff were asked to leave workstations so men could replace them.
• SETE president Ariel Weil said the practice was 'not acceptable' and reaffirmed equality values.
• Nearly 7 million people visit the Eiffel Tower each year.

Why it matters: The incident raises questions about whether private religious requests can override French workplace equality rules at a publicly prominent monument.

• French equality minister Aurore Berge wrote that 'no dogma, no religion is above the laws of the Republic.'
• National Assembly president Yael Braun-Pivet said women 'are fully present in public life' in France and no one should tell them to become invisible.

How 14 sources split on this story

Where they split: Coverage agrees on the core facts but differs on how prominently to feature the political backlash versus SETE's institutional accountability.

What’s next: Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said an investigation will launch 'as soon as possible.'

• SETE said it will 'draw the necessary conclusions' and accept any consequences.
• Whether BAPS formally requested the conditions or management assumed and acted on them remains unclear from available reporting.
• What specific disciplinary or policy consequences SETE will impose has not been announced.