Eiffel Tower Closes After Female Staff Were ‘Forced to Hide’ When Hindu Group Visited

The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after staff went on strike following female members being ‘forced to hide’ when a Hindu group visited over the weekend.

The dispute stemmed from a private visit on Saturday by around 100 members of a group whose representatives were in France for festivities related to the inauguration of a Hindu temple in the Paris suburbs.

Female staff said they were asked by management to ‘make themselves invisible’ ahead of the group’s arrival, while some workers were replaced by men.

It is thought that the Hindu delegation had requested ‘interactions with women’ be limited, though the Eiffel Tower’s operating company said ‘these conditions should not have been accepted’.

Staff were left shocked by the request and walked out in protest against gender discrimination.

A meeting was organised on Monday morning to ‘ensure that women are never treated this way at the company again’.

The tower was shut for a full day, only reopening on Tuesday morning, due to so-called ‘operational reasons’ and management have since apologised to workers according to Diane Davoine, a staff union representative.

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Far-Right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen also criticised the incident, saying France would ‘never accept that women’s presence be “limited”.’

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