Eiffel Tower reopens following staff strike after female employees 'made invisible' for Hindu group visit

The Eiffel Tower is set to reopen on Tuesday after staff staged a walkout a day prior over the removal of female staffers to accommodate a visit by a Hindu religious group. The operating company that runs the Paris landmark, CETE, acknowledged that the Hindu delegation had requested the visit be organized so as to limit interactions with women. CETE later said that these conditions should not have been accepted, and announced that the global hotspot was due to reopen on Tuesday following a meeting between staff and management. Eiffel Tower staff said in a statement that it condemned professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined and replaced during the visit by the delegation, and subsequently went on strike. They detailed that female employees were given instructions to make themselves invisible in order to welcome the delegation, adding that they were shocked by the incident. A slew of politicians and lawmakers, including Paris Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire and President of the National Assembly Eyal Brampeve, condemned the incident which they say undermined French values and citizens to please foreign visitors. BAPS, the Hindu religious group in question, apologized for any pain or inconvenience caused by the incident in a written statement shared on Axe. The group said it got in direct contact with CETE as to avoid any disruptions to other tourists given the size of their delegation, stressing that to the best of their knowledge, no one was prevented access to the tower.