A delegation from the BAPS Hindu organization triggered a one-day closure of the Eiffel Tower after requesting that female staff be hidden or replaced by men. The incident led to a worker walkout and subsequent investigations by Paris city authorities and the tower's operator, SETE.
The one-day closure and the order to make women 'invisible'
The controversy began on a Saturday when a delegation from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) arrived at the Eiffel Tower with specific requirements for their tour. According to the report, the BAPS delegation requested that the visit be structured to "limit interactions with women," which resulted in female employees being told to retreat from certain areas or be replaced by male colleagues. Some staff members reported being told to "make themselves invisible" to ensure the monks and priests did not encounter them.
This directive led to immediate backlash from the workforce, who described the orders as huiliating. In response to the indignity, staff members staged a walkout, forcing the Eiffel Tower to close its doors for a single day. This closure was used by management to meet with employees and address the grievances resulting from the operator's decision to accommodate the delegation's requests.
BAPS's ties to the BJP and the reaction from Aurore Berge
The BAPS organization is notably linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party in India. The group's spiritual leader, Mahant Swami Maharaj, maintains close ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has participated in the inauguration of various BAPS temples globally. The timing of the visit coincided with the opening of a new BAPS temple near Paris on Sunday, adding a layer of diplomatic complexity to the event.
The incident drew sharp condemnation from across the French political spectrum. Aurore Berge, France's Minister for Gender Equality, stated that "women should never be asked to erase themselves ," while centrist candidate Gabby Attal argued that no ideology or religion can override the rights of women in France. Even Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party criticized the event as an unacceptable intrusion into French societal norms, as reported in the source.
The dual probe by SETE and the 99 per cent owner, the city of Paris
Because the city of Paris is the 99 per cent owner of the Eiffel Tower, the municipal government has launched a public inquiry into the incident. Simultaneously, the tower's operator, SETE, is conducting a confidential internal audit using an external consultant. Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire described the decision to sideline female staff as "absurd, unjust and unacceptable," and has vowed to uncover the exact chain of command that permitted the arrangement.
The investigations aim to determine whether the instructions to hide female staff originated from the BAPS delegation itself, the management at SETE, or higher-ranking authorities. While SETE admitted it "wrongfully agreed" to the visitors' conditions, the full extent of the administrative failure remains a primary focus of the city's probe.
Who authorized the BAPS request to sideline female employees?
Despite the public apology issued by BAPS on social media—where the group claimed it had "no intention of causing pain"—several critical questions remain. Specifically, it is still unclear which specific official at SETE signed off on the request to replace female staff with men, and whether any formal diplomatic pressure was applied to ensure the delegation's customs were met over local labor laws.
Furthermore, the report highlights a tension between international cultural exchange and French law.. While the BAPS community has pledged to work with officials to prevent a recurrence, the incident leaves open the question of how European landmarks should handle foreign delegations whose religious requirements directly conflict with national human rights and gender equality standards.
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