Eiffel Tower Shuts After Women Staff "Sidelined" For Hindu Group's Visit

Staff at the Eiffel Tower in Paris went on strike over allegations that female employees were 'removed' from the premises during a visit by a Hindu religious group days earlier, workers and management said. The dispute stems from a private visit last week by a delegation of about 100 people linked to BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha), a religious group whose representatives were in France for festivities related to the inauguration of a temple in the Paris suburbs.In a statement, Eiffel Tower staff condemned "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced, and rendered invisible based on their gender" during the visit by the delegation."Instructions were given to female employees of the Eiffel Tower and to female employees of contractors to make themselves invisible in order to welcome this delegation," the staff said in their statement, adding they were shocked to have been put in such a…