‘Unacceptable’: Marine Le Pen condemns removal of female staff during Hindu group’s visit to Eiffel Tower
Unacceptable: Le Pen Condemns Eiffel Tower Staff Walkout
Theindiapostdaily.com – The phrase Unacceptable echoed across Parisian headlines on Monday after the Eiffel Tower's entire workforce walked off the job, shutting down the monument for a full day. Employees walked out in protest over gender-segregated instructions they say were issued during a private tour the previous Sunday by a Hindu religious delegation. Signage at the tower's base told arriving visitors that opening had been delayed "for operational reasons," leaving the world's most-visited paid landmark silent and empty.
How a Private Tour Triggered a Full-Day Shutdown
The chain of events began on Sunday, when roughly 100 members of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) entered the tower for a private visit. The delegation was in France to mark the inauguration of a new temple in the Paris suburbs. According to tower employees and contracted service workers, instructions were relayed during the tour directing female staff to vacate their posts, be replaced by male colleagues, and steer clear of designated zones while the group was on site.
In a collective statement, the affected workers described receiving what they called "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex." The language was deliberate: the group framed the episode not as a scheduling hiccup but as gender-based exclusion inside a public institution.
"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. We were shocked to have been put in such a situation."
SETE, the state-linked operator responsible for the tower's maintenance and daily running, confirmed that the visiting delegation had specifically requested the visit be structured to minimize "interactions with women." The company went on to say those conditions "should not have been accepted" and that they conflicted with both SETE's internal values and French equality law. SETE pledged to accept the "consequences" of the episode.
Ariel Weil, who serves simultaneously as SETE's president and as a socialist elected official in Paris, told AFP that the practice was "clearly not an acceptable practice." He added: "I restate the Eiffel Tower's commitment to republican values and to the equality of men and women." Weil's dual position—corporate operator and municipal representative—lent his remarks particular weight in a city where public-institution governance and local politics overlap closely.
Political Reaction and the BAPS Response
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire confirmed on the social platform X that an internal inquiry would be opened "as soon as possible," acknowledging the fury among tower employees and stating plainly that their grievance was justified. He framed the matter as one of workplace dignity demanding immediate institutional scrutiny.
Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally party, was equally blunt. Posting on her own X account, she denounced what she characterized as an intolerable affront to women's workplace presence in France.
"In France, we will never accept that the presence of women be 'limited.' All light must be shed on what happened during this visit to the Eiffel Tower," Le Pen wrote.
The convergence of a socialist mayor and a far-right party leader within hours underscored how rapidly the episode escalated from an internal HR dispute into a national conversation about gender equality and secular republican identity.
BAPS, for its part, explained that the Sunday visit had been scheduled at the very start of opening hours precisely to limit disruption to other visitors, given the delegation's size. The organization stated that, to its knowledge, no visitor was ever barred from entering the tower, and it offered a sincere apology for any pain or discomfort caused.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the Eiffel Tower closed on Monday? The tower's workforce walked off the job in protest over gender-segregated instructions issued during a Sunday private tour. The walkout forced a full-day shutdown.
Who issued the instructions that triggered the walkout? Tower employees and contracted service workers say the instructions came during a private visit by a BAPS delegation. SETE confirmed the delegation had asked for the visit to minimize interactions with women.
What did Marine Le Pen say? Le Pen called the episode unacceptable and wrote on X that France would "never accept that the presence of women be 'limited,'" urging that full light be shed on what occurred.
What is SETE's position? SETE acknowledged the delegation's request, stated the conditions "should not have been accepted," and pledged to accept the consequences of the episode. President Ariel Weil called the practice "clearly not an acceptable practice."
Was any visitor prevented from entering the tower? BAPS stated that, to its knowledge, no visitor was barred from access at any point during the Sunday visit.