France opens investigation after female Eiffel Tower staff removed for Hindu group's visit
French authorities have launched an investigation after female employees at Paris's Eiffel Tower were taken off duty for a private visit by a Hindu religious group, leading to a staff strike and Monday closure at the iconic landmark.
Eiffel Tower staff union representative Diane Davoine told Reuters a group of 100 or so people linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha Hindu group, also known as BAPS, visited the site on Saturday, and "women were asked to leave their places of work in order to place men there."
"That absolutely 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, adding management had repeatedly apologized for what happened.
Speaking Monday, with the monument closed, she said: "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."
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said Monday the employees' "dissatisfaction is legitimate," adding an investigation would be launched "as quickly as possible."
"It is not acceptable that such conditions can be tolerated," he said in a post on X. "Equality between women and men will never stop at the foot of our historical monuments, nor anywhere in this city. It must be applied everywhere, for everyone."
The Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel, which runs the tower, told the AFP news agency that the BAPS delegation had asked for their visit to have limited "interactions with women," adding, "These conditions should not have been accepted."
BAPS sadhus, or monks, are not only sworn to celibacy but also prohibited from having contact with women. Though, this only applies to sadhus, not all followers of the religion.
Ties to India's ruling party
BAPS is a Hindu denomination seen as having a close relationship with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling BJP party.
A 2021 lawsuit accused the group of trafficking low-caste workers from India to work in dire conditions and for paltry pay on temples in the U.S., including in New Jersey, California, Texas, Georgia and Illinois. Workers believe two of their colleagues died from a preventable lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust while working on the New Jersey temple, the largest such building outside of India.
On Sunday, a day after the Eiffel Tower visit, Modhi appeared via video link during the inauguration of a new BAPS Hindu temple in Paris, hailing it as a "new milestone in the cultural relations between India and France."
In a statement on X, the BAPS Paris temple wrote, "We wish to offer our sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by this situation."
They did not address whether they had asked for female staff to be taken off duty. BAPS did not immediately respond to a CBS News request for clarification.
France's centre-right prime minister, Gabriel Attal, said in a post on X Monday that "in France, no culture, no belief, no worship, nothing nor anyone can come dictate to women their place."
