Patrick Branco Ruivo, head of the Eiffel Tower's operating company, will leave his post at the end of the year following an internal inquiry into the September 5 visit.
Female employees were asked to leave some workstations and remain away from certain areas while the BAPS delegation was present, prompting a one-day staff strike and the closure of the monument.
SETE said the visit involved “problems and shortcomings” in its organisation, while BAPS later apologised for the “pain or inconvenience” caused and said the request was linked to monks' religious vows.
Eiffel Tower Chief To Step Down After BAPS Visit Sparks Row Over Removal Of Female Staff
Eiffel Tower operator chief Patrick Branco Ruivo will step down at the end of 2026 after an investigation found organisational failures behind the exclusion of female staff during a September visit by a BAPS Hindu delegation
Summary
The head of the company operating Paris' Eiffel Tower, Patrick Branco Ruivo, will step down at the end of the year following a controversy over female staff being excluded during a private visit by a Hindu religious group earlier this month. An internal investigation found “operational flaws and shortcomings” in the organisation of the visit, which resulted in female employees being removed from their posts.
Why Is The Eiffel Tower Chief Stepping Down?
The controversy centres on a September 5 visit by a delegation linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a Hindu organisation. During the visit, female employees at the Eiffel Tower were reportedly asked to leave their posts and move to other rooms while the delegation was at the landmark. Male colleagues replaced them in some positions.
The decision prompted a backlash among staff and led to a one-day strike at the Eiffel Tower on September 7. Workers criticised the instructions as unacceptable, while the incident also triggered wider debate in France over equality and the treatment of women in the workplace.
The company operating the Eiffel Tower, Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), subsequently investigated the circumstances surrounding the visit. Its internal inquiry found shortcomings in the organisation of protocol visits and described the exclusion of female staff as “unacceptable”.
What Did The Investigation Find?
SETE said Ruivo, who has served as its director general since 2018, will leave his position at the end of 2026. The company said the investigation identified organisational and operational shortcomings surrounding protocol visits.
SETE chair Ariel Weil has called for measures including additional training aimed at reinforcing gender equality. The company has also sought to distinguish the operational failures identified by its investigation from the intentions of the visiting delegation.
The BAPS delegation was visiting Paris in connection with the inauguration of a new Hindu temple. The organisation said the arrangements at the Eiffel Tower were intended to facilitate the visit rather than discriminate against female employees.
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The controversy has therefore moved beyond the individual visit, with the investigation focusing on how the Eiffel Tower's management handled private and protocol visits and how staff should be treated during such events. Female staff were excluded during the visit and that the incident resulted from organisational failures; AP also reports BAPS saying the arrangements were for logistical purposes rather than gender discrimination.
The Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors after staff protested allegations that female employees were sidelined during a private visit by a delegation from the Hindu organisation BAPS. Paris authorities have ordered an investigation into the incident, while BAPS said the visit was organised with the Eiffel Tower team to minimise disruption and denied that anyone had been prevented from accessing the monument.
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