14:44
The iconic Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after its staff went on strike over female employees being "moved away" for a visit by a Hindu religious group, according to the tower's management and staff.
The incident took place on Saturday during a visit by around 100 people linked to BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha), Euronews reported on Monday.
Diane Davoine, a union representative, told French television that female workers had been "moved away from their workstations as the delegation passed by".
Eiffel Tower employees condemned what they described as "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex", the report said.
SETE, the company that runs the tower, said that the Hindu delegation had requested that the visit be organised so as to "limit interactions with women", and acknowledged that "these conditions should not have been accepted".
In a statement issued by the CGT trade union, 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," according to the statement quoted by France24. "And all female employees were instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present."
The iconic site, which receives nearly seven million visitors a year, is due to reopen on Tuesday following a meeting between staff and management, France24 reported. -- PTI
