Eiffel Tower Reopens After Row Over Women Staff Being Sidelined During Hindu Group Visit

The Eiffel Tower was due to reopen on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, after staff walked out over the removal of women colleagues during a visit by a Hindu religious group. The group, the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), later apologised for "any pain or inconvenience caused" by the incident.

The operating company that runs the Paris landmark, SETE, stated that the delegation had asked for the visit to be organised to limit "interactions with women" and that "these conditions should not have been accepted." SETE also stated that the landmark was due to reopen on Tuesday after a meeting the previous day between staff and management.

SETE and Staff Dispute

SETE stated that those conditions should not have been accepted. The company said the Hindu delegation had requested the visit be arranged to limit "interactions with women."

Staff then issued a statement condemning "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex" during the delegation's visit.

"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," staff said in the statement.

"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 staff said.

BAPS Response And Apology

BAPS denied that anyone was barred from entering, writing on X that "to the best of our knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access to the Eiffel Tower."

BAPS also offered its "sincere apologies" after reports that women had been denied access to the Eiffel Tower or that female employees had been discriminated against. The organisation said the visit had been organised with Eiffel Tower staff at the start of normal opening hours to avoid disruption. "Due to the size of our delegation, the visit was arranged in conjunction with the Eiffel Tower team at the start of normal operating hours to avoid disrupting or inconveniencing others," BAPS wrote on X.

The BAPS Hindu temple in Paris wrote on X: "To our knowledge, at no time was access to the Eiffel Tower denied to anyone. Nevertheless, we wish to offer our sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by this situation. We are deeply committed to the universal values of mutual respect and service to others."

It added: "We respect the concerns raised and take them very seriously."

Meeting And Reopening

The reopening was set for Tuesday. SETE stated that the monument would reopen on September 8, 2026, after the meeting the previous day between staff and management. That meeting came after the walkout over the treatment of women employees during the delegation's visit.