Hindu group says probe confirms it did not ask Eiffel Tower to remove female staff during visit

The Hindu religious group said an investigation showed it did not demand that female employees be “hidden, removed or excluded” during its delegation’s visit to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

This comes after Eiffel Tower employees went on strike last month over allegations that women employees were evicted during a visit by about 100 people associated with the BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam) Swaminarayan Sanstha. The strike prompted a day-long closure of the iconic monument located in the French capital.

In a statement on Thursday (October 1, 2026), BAPS Paris said: “From the beginning, BAPS has consistently stated that it has never asked for female employees to be hidden, removed or excluded.”

“The investigation confirms the fact that BAPS did not request the exclusion of women from the visitor route,” he said.

The group also reiterated its concerns for staff affected by the events surrounding the visit, and expressed its hope that this clarification would help to “better understand” the circumstances and “allow everyone involved to move forward with respect”.

It comes days after the Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel – the company that operates the Eiffel Tower – announced that its boss, Patrick Branco Ruivo, would step down at the end of the year after an investigation by an independent firm revealed a series of operational failures related to the BAPS delegation’s visit on September 5.

Eiffel Tower workers, represented by the CGT trade union, claimed during the delegation’s visit that “workplace instructions that have resulted in female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible based on their gender”.

The BAPS Hindu temple in Paris earlier apologized to anyone hurt or inconvenienced by the situation, but said “to our knowledge, no one has ever been denied access to the Eiffel Tower”.

A BAPS delegation was in France for the inauguration of a Hindu temple near Paris, which was consecrated in September.

According to its website, the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is a “socio-spiritual Hindu faith” with more than 1,300 temples spread across North America, Europe, Africa, West Asia, India and the Asia-Pacific region.

Published – 02 Oct 2026 23:29 IST