the news now

The world's news, cross-checked among reputable sources.

Eiffel Tower Closed Following Strike Over Removal of Female Staff for Hindu Delegation

16 sources across 10 countries · 1 of them is linked to a state

Who reported this

  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Folha de S.Paulo Brazil · Centre · Grupo Folha (Frias family)
  • Le Monde France · Centre-left · Fonds pour l'independance de la presse
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • Der Spiegel Germany · Centre-left · ~50% staff-owned
  • Deutsche Welle Germany · Centre · Public · German federal public-law corporation
  • Scroll.in India · Left · Scroll Media Inc, reader-funded
  • The Indian Express India · Centre · Indian Express Group (Goenka family)
  • Asahi Shimbun Japan · Centre-left · Asahi Shimbun Company (family and employee held)
  • The Japan Times Japan · Centre · News2u Holdings
  • BBC News United Kingdom · Centre · Public · Licence fee, royal charter
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • The Daily Star Bangladesh · Centre · Mediaworld Ltd
  • Tempo English Indonesia · Centre-left · PT Tempo Inti Media
  • Corriere della Sera Italy · Centre-right · RCS MediaGroup (Cairo Communication)
  • Al Jazeera Qatar · Centre-left · State-affiliated · Qatari government funded

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday, September 7, after employees went on strike to protest the removal of female staff during a visit by a Hindu religious delegation on Saturday. Staff members and union representatives stated that women were instructed to make themselves invisible, leave their posts, or be replaced by men to accommodate the group. The delegation consisted of approximately 100 people associated with the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, known as BAPS, who were in France for the consecration of a major temple in the suburbs of Paris.

Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel, the company that operates the monument, confirmed that the delegation requested the visit be organized to limit interactions with women. The company admitted that these conditions should not have been accepted and stated that the request was inconsistent with its values and the principles of gender equality. Ariel Weil, the president of the operating company, described the practice as unacceptable and reaffirmed the monument's commitment to republican values.

BAPS issued a statement apologizing for any pain or inconvenience caused. The group noted that the visit was coordinated with the Eiffel Tower team to avoid disrupting other visitors and stated that, to their knowledge, no one was denied access to the monument.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire announced that an investigation would be launched into the incident, asserting that gender equality must be applied everywhere in the city. Other French political figures expressed condemnation. Equality Minister Aurore Bergé stated that no religion is above the laws of the Republic, while presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal also criticized the limitation of women's presence. The monument was scheduled to reopen on Tuesday.

How each side framed it

Left
This framing emphasized the removal of women as a form of gender discrimination and highlighted the nationalist ties of the religious group.
Centre-left
These reports emphasized the violation of equality values and the shock felt by the employees.
Centre
These outlets focused on the operational facts of the strike and the official responses from the operating company and city officials.
Centre-right
This coverage highlighted the broader political context of French debates on secularism and the current presidential campaign.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.