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The Eiffel Tower closed on Monday following a staff protest over female employees being sidelined during a Hindu religious delegation visit.

The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday for operational reasons as staff protested instructions that sidelined female employees during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation. The delegation, from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement, visited the landmark on Saturday. During the visit, female staff were reportedly asked to leave their workstations or make themselves invisible to limit interactions with women. In some instances, male employees were asked to step in to replace them. SETE, the operating company of the Eiffel Tower, acknowledged that the delegation requested the visit be organized to limit interactions with women and admitted that these conditions should not have been accepted. SETE President Ariel Weil stated that the conditions were not in line with the company's values regarding equality between men and women. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire announced that an investigation would be launched to clarify the facts. The incident occurred during a period of celebration for the inauguration of a new Hindu temple in the Paris suburbs, which was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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