Women staff exclusion during BAPS visit costs Eiffel Tower chief his job

• Eiffel Tower operator SETE chief Patrick Branco Ruivo to step down by end-2026 after probe into BAPS visit

• Female staff sidelined during 5 September delegation visit; SETE calls the arrangements “unacceptable”

• Staff strike forced Eiffel Tower closure on 7 September; BAPS apologised for distress but denied seeking discriminatory treatment

Patrick Branco Ruivo, director-general of the company that operates the Eiffel Tower, will step down by the end of 2026 following an internal investigation into the exclusion of female employees during a visit by a delegation from the Hindu organisation Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) earlier this month.

The Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) said on Tuesday that an independent investigation had found several operational failures in the organisation of official visits, particularly the BAPS delegation’s visit on 5 September. The company said these failures had resulted in female employees being sidelined during the delegation’s visit and described the situation as "unacceptable".

Ruivo has headed SETE since November 2018. The company operates and maintains the Eiffel Tower and is 99 per cent owned by the City of Paris. It employs around 400 people and receives more than 6.5 million visitors a year.

Around 100 members of the BAPS delegation visited the Eiffel Tower on 5 September as part of events surrounding the inauguration of the organisation’s first traditional Hindu temple in France, in Bussy-Saint-Georges, east of Paris.

During the private visit, female employees were reportedly instructed to leave certain workstations, move to separate areas and avoid sections through which the delegation was passing. In some places, male employees were assigned to replace them.

Union representatives said the arrangements left female employees feeling humiliated and discriminated against on the basis of their gender. The incident prompted an immediate backlash among the workforce. Reuters reported that staff representatives said women had been asked to vacate their positions so that male colleagues could take over their duties.

SETE acknowledged at the time that the BAPS delegation had requested limited interaction with women but said such a condition should not have been accepted. SETE chairman Ariel Weil subsequently reiterated the company’s commitment to equality between men and women and to France’s democratic values.

The controversy culminated in a staff walkout on 7 September, forcing the Eiffel Tower to remain closed for the day. Employees protested against what they described as the sidelining of women and demanded an explanation for how such arrangements had been allowed.

The monument reopened the following day after talks between management and staff. The Paris city authorities also launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The latest findings by SETE’s independent investigation have now put the responsibility for the operational failures at the centre of the controversy, leading to the decision that Ruivo will leave his post at the end of the year.

BAPS denied that it had sought to discriminate against women. Following the controversy, the organisation said arrangements for the visit had been coordinated with Eiffel Tower management to ensure that the large delegation could move through the monument without causing inconvenience to staff or other visitors.

BAPS said the discussions with the management were not intended as a "gender-based request" and apologised for any distress or offence caused. It also reiterated its commitment to gender equality, mutual respect and service to all people.

The Paris mayor’s office had expressed concern over the incident and commissioned an investigation into how female employees came to be separated from the delegation. Paris authorities said the handling of the episode had to be examined in light of France’s republican principles of equality between women and men.

SETE chairman Ariel Weil has since said the company would introduce new measures and training to strengthen gender equality and prevent a repeat of the incident.

The controversy has also exposed wider tensions within the company operating the Eiffel Tower. A recent Le Monde investigation reported concerns over management, staff relations and oversight at SETE, as well as broader operational and maintenance problems at the landmark.