Staff at France’s Eiffel Tower protested against the exclusion of female employees after a Hindu religious delegation visiting the monument over the weekend allegedly requested limited “interactions with women". The workers launched the protest in solidarity with female employees and held a meeting over the incident, with the monument being shut down on Monday. The episode has angered the staff and drawn criticism from French politicians.
The matter is now under investigation from Paris city authorities. The incident took place on Saturday, when a delegation of 100 people linked to Hindu group Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, or BAPS, made a private visit to Eiffel Tower. BAPS is close to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and consecrated its first major temple in France on Sunday.
Mr Modi had congratulated BAPS on the consecration ceremony. This inauguration is a new era of cultural relations between India and France,” Mr Modi said, addressing the gathering through a video message. The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) trade union and staff condemned “workplace instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and rendered invisible on the basis of their gender".
"Some were asked to leave their posts and withdraw to other areas. In some posts they were replaced by men," the statement read. "And all female employees were instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present." Sete, the company operating the monument, said the delegation had requested that the visit be organised so that there are limited “interactions with women".
It acknowledged that the “conditions should not have been accepted” as they were “not in line with Sete’s values, now with the principle of equality between men and women,” reported France 24. The company added that it was ready to accept the “consequences”. With tensions mounting over the weekend, the workers decided to meet on Monday, to demand open dialogue with management and ensure that women are not treated in this manner by the company again, she said.
Meanwhile, signs were put up at the base of the tower, informing the visitor that “the opening of the Eiffel Tower is delayed for operational reasons”. The tower receives nearly seven million visitors a year, while was shut all day on Monday, it resumed to normal on Tuesday. Paris mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, said that an investigation would be launched "as soon as possible"adding that the worker’s anger was legitimate.
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