Eiffel Tower Incident: Disgrace to Women or Dignity to Indian Sadhus?

Female Staff Removed from Eiffel Tower to Facilitate a Hindu Religious Group Visit!! French women felt this incident was an insult and started an agitation against this action.

A controversy surrounding the reported removal of female staff to facilitate a visit by a Hindu religious group has raised important questions about equality, religious accommodation, workplace rights and institutional responsibility.

A delegation of around 100 people linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) group from Gujarat visited the landmark in the French capital on Saturday.

Staff union representative Diane Davoine says that as they arrived at the monument, women were told to move out of sight!!

"During the visit of this delegation, women were asked to leave their places of work to place men there," she told Reuters. Davoine also said management had since apologised to workers over the incident.

"That does not go down well with the employees, with women obviously, who are all humiliated by what happened, by the way some were treated," Davoine said.

She added: "Tensions mounted over the weekend, so this morning, the employees decided to meet: first, to open a dialogue with management, and second, to ensure that women are never treated this way at the company again."

While respecting every individual’s right to practise and observe their faith, it is equally important to consider whether accommodating the religious sentiments of one group should involve changing the duties, access or presence of female employees.

Does this constitute a reasonable religious accommodation, or does it raise concerns about gender inequality and discrimination?
Could the same principle be applied fairly to other religious or cultural groups visiting India? And where should institutions draw the line between respecting religious beliefs and protecting equal rights for everyone?

Should religious sentiments be given priority in such situations? Should female staff be asked to step aside to facilitate a religious visit?? Would the same arrangement be acceptable in India if another religious or cultural group demands certain rules?

Just a question as I feel one should try to be fair to both sides - to the religious group and to the employees:

Did the religious group/organisator of the group's journey ask for female stuff getting put 'out of sight'?

In a statement, Eiffel Tower staff condemned "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex" during the visit by the delegation.

"Instructions were given to female employees of the Eiffel Tower and to female employees of contractors to make themselves invisible in order to welcome this delegation," the staff said in their statement, adding they were shocked to have been put in such a situation.

"Some were asked to leave their posts and withdraw to other areas. In some posts they were replaced by men. And all female employees were instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present."

The instructions "were not in line with SETE's values, nor with the principles of equality between men and women," the company said, promising to accept the "consequences."

"It is clearly not an acceptable practice," SETE president Ariel Weil, who is also a socialist elected official in Paris, said.

"I restate the Eiffel Tower's commitment to republican values and to the equality of men and women."

The French capital's socialist mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, said on social media platform X it was "unacceptable" that the Eiffel Tower management agreed to the delegation's conditions, and said an investigation would be launched.

The tower, which receives nearly 7 million visitors a year according to its website, was closed all day on Monday, but will open as normal on Tuesday, according to a staff representative.

French Equality Minister Aurore Berge reacted angrily on X.

"In France, we do not ask women to erase themselves. No dogma, no religion is above the laws of the Republic," she wrote.

Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen also criticized the incident, saying France would "never accept that women's presence be 'limited.'"

Originally posted by: Clochette

Just a question as I feel one should try to be fair to both sides - to the religious group and to the employees:

Did the religious group/organisator of the group's journey ask for female stuff getting put 'out of sight'?

Link--- https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/08/world/eiffel-tower-women-hindu-group/

This is reported by Le Figaro.

The incident occurred the previous day. Around 100 representatives of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha spiritual organization arrived on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. The delegation was in France ahead of the opening of the organization's first major temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges, near Paris.

Before the guests' arrival, SETE, the company that manages the tower on behalf of Paris City Hall, was asked to limit the spiritual leader's contact with women. The administration agreed to comply with this condition.

Employees said that female staff members of the Eiffel Tower and contractor companies had been instructed not to appear in areas occupied by the delegation. Some women were asked to leave their workplaces and move to other areas, while men replaced them in certain sections. Female employees were also prohibited from passing through specific areas of the tower.

SETE management and politicians condemned the discrimination

SETE acknowledged that such conditions should never have been accepted. The company emphasized that the decision contradicted its values, the principles of equality between women and men, and the requirement of neutrality. SETE President Ariel Weil ordered an investigation into all the circumstances surrounding the decision.

No cultural considerations can justify treating people differently on the basis of gender or any form of discrimination when welcoming visitors.

- said SETE President Ariel Weil

Originally posted by: Clochette

Just a question as I feel one should try to be fair to both sides - to the religious group and to the employees:

Did the religious group/organisator of the group's journey ask for female stuff getting put 'out of sight'?

First they want to visit Eiffel Towers and then make discriminatory rules there and it was accepted too by the French authorities!! Shocking! What is so derogatory about being a woman? Surely, they were all born of women?

when in rome do as the romans do.

But, I wouldn't have supported even if they did this in India too.

Case of Sabrimala is different.

Thanks for the additional Info... in-between, I also got some:

Given the size of the group, the visit was scheduled for early Saturday morning, right at the start of regular opening hours, so as not to disrupt the flow of ordinary tourists. During the booking and organization process, a request was also conveyed to minimize interactions with women. I am certain the reason for this was discussed, and from the religious group's perspective, it is understandable.

Imo, there would have been ample time, then, to inform the female staff about the nature of the visit, provide them with background information on BAPS, and ask them to respect the specific practices of this religious group for the duration of the visit.

I believe the ladies would have agreed, as BAPS is not misogynistic-on the contrary, they fully recognize the role of women within their organization, albeit with gender segregation in accordance with their religious tenets. Personally, I feel this is something that should be tolerated.

Since SETE management evidently accepted the condition during the preliminary discussions, this is clearly a communication issue-regardless of which level of SETE was involved. I think, the women's reaction is highly understandable because, once again, the women's justified resentment stems from the way decisions are handed down from the top, and in my view, t h a t is precisely what is unacceptable. The monks' request was reasonable (they payed for an organised visit) and could have been - with b e t t e r organisation from the French side - accommodated harmoniously.

Well am not favoring any side here.

Majority of them were monks, who follows different set of rules as per their system. They may have asked for such condition. It was upto the authorities to refuse it. If they have accepted such condition then they are answerable to female staff. Monks will visit the place & leave in few mins. Authorities & staff has to work with each other.