Eiffel Tower Reopens After Staff Strike Over BAPS Delegation Visit
The Eiffel Tower reopened on Tuesday following a staff strike on Monday. Employees walked out in protest after female staff members were removed during a private visit by a Hindu religious group.
The iconic Eiffel Tower reopened to the public on Tuesday after closing its doors a day earlier due to industrial action by staff members. The disruption at the world-famous Paris landmark was triggered by a sudden strike on Monday, halting normal operations at the French capital's most visited monument and catching tourists by surprise.
The strike was organised by workers in direct protest over the controversial removal and exclusion of female employees during a private visit to the site. According to the Paris landmark's operator, the female staff members were asked to step aside because of specific restrictions regarding interactions with women demanded during the visit.
The high-profile delegation touring the Parisian monument belonged to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement. The private visit by the Hindu religious group, which involved around 100 people, quickly became a matter of intense public scrutiny following the treatment of the female workforce on site.
In response to the mounting controversy and the subsequent industrial action taken by the monument's workforce, representatives for the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement issued a formal public statement addressing the incident that led to the closure.
In their statement, officials from the BAPS spiritual movement offered an official apology for any pain or inconvenience caused by the circumstances surrounding their private tour of the monument. Meanwhile, normal operations resumed on Tuesday as the landmark welcomed back visitors following the resolution of the staff protest.
