Overview
- Workers said a BAPS delegation that visited the tower on Saturday asked to limit “interactions with women,” and some female employees were moved off their posts or ordered to avoid certain areas.
- The staff held an assembly and declared a strike on Monday that delayed opening and briefly closed the monument in protest of what they called discriminatory instructions.
- SETE, the company that runs the site, acknowledged the request, apologized, said the conditions should not have been accepted and promised a full review and stricter procedures to prevent repeats.
- The mayor of Paris launched a rapid external inquiry and politicians across the spectrum condemned the episode while unions pressed for formal remedies for affected workers.
- BAPS issued an apology for any distress but denied anyone was denied access; the case raises broader questions about how public sites handle private religious requests and about ties between faith groups and political actors.