The Eiffel Tower was temporarily closed on September 7 after employees protested against the alleged sidelining of female staff during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS).The incident took place on September 5 when around 100 members of the delegation visited the monument. Union representatives alleged that female employees were asked to leave their workstations as the group passed, with male colleagues taking their places.The issue was subsequently raised with the management, prompting a staff meeting and the temporary closure of the Eiffel Tower. As per media reports, Union representative Diane Davoine said employees wanted assurances that such an incident would not be repeated.The controversy also reached India, with the Ministry of External Affairs saying it was aware of the inauguration of the BAPS temple in the Paris region but distanced itself from the Eiffel Tower dispute.“We are aware of the opening of a temple of the BAPS in the Paris area. As to the particular issue pertaining to the tower, this is a matter purely between the entities concerned,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said an investigation would be launched into the incident, describing the employees’ anger as legitimate and stressing that gender equality must apply everywhere in the city.“It is not acceptable that such conditions can be tolerated,” Grégoire said, adding that the facts behind the staff mobilisation needed to be established.The BAPS delegation was in France in connection with celebrations surrounding the inauguration of a major Hindu temple at Bussy-Saint-Georges, a suburb of Paris. The organisation has also been holding cultural and religious events in the French capital.BAPS has denied that women were deliberately barred from the Eiffel Tower. According to a statement, the organisation said the private visit had been arranged around the tower’s opening time because of the size of the delegation and to avoid disrupting other visitors. It apologised for any pain or inconvenience caused.The investigation is expected to establish what instructions were given to Eiffel Tower staff, whether the delegation made any such request and how arrangements for the private visit were handled.The episode has triggered a wider debate in France over gender equality and the accommodation of religious and cultural practices at public institutions.The Eiffel Tower, one of France’s most recognisable landmarks, attracts millions of visitors every year. Built for the 1889 Paris World’s Fair, it was initially criticised by prominent French artists and intellectuals before becoming a defining symbol of Paris and France.