Eiffel Tower reopens after staff strike over BAPS visit restrictions

The Eiffel Tower reopened Tuesday after staff staged a one-day strike over allegations that female employees were moved from posts, replaced by men or barred from certain areas during a private visit by roughly 100 members of the BAPS Hindu organization. The tower’s operating company acknowledged that the delegation had requested limited interactions with women and said those conditions should not have been accepted, while Paris officials launched an investigation and French politicians condemned the reported discrimination. BAPS disputed that its arrangements were intended to exclude women, saying the visit was coordinated with tower management and expressing regret for any harm or inconvenience. The controversy followed the inauguration of a BAPS temple near Paris, addressed remotely by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while India’s Foreign Ministry said the dispute was strictly between BAPS and the monument’s authorities. The incident has fueled debate in France over workplace equality, religious accommodation and gender-based restrictions in public institutions.