Paris Eiffel Tower says chief to step down after uproar over removing women staff - IOL

The Eiffel Tower’s operator said director Patrick Branco Ruivo will step down at the end of 2026 after an internal investigation into female staff being sidelined during a BAPS Hindu delegation’s visit.

The operating company that runs the Eiffel Tower said its chief would step down at the end of this year in the wake of a controversy over the removal of women staff during a visit by a Hindu religious group.

It was previously reported that the landmark was closed earlier this month because of a strike by staff over the removal of female colleagues during a visit by a Hindu religious group, workers and management said.

The visit came on the same day as a cultural boat procession on the Seine organised by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement.

In a statement, Eiffel Tower staff condemned "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex" during the visit by the delegation.

The movement then took to social media to apologise for the incident. "To the best of our knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented from accessing the Eiffel Tower," the organisation wrote on X.

"Due to the size of our delegation, the visit was arranged in conjunction with the Eiffel Tower team at the start of normal operating hours to avoid disrupting or inconveniencing others," BAPS said.

Patrick Branco Ruivo, who has been in charge of the Paris landmark since 2018, would leave his job at the end of the year after an internal probe revealed that "operational flaws and shortcomings" in organising the visit led to the "unacceptable" removal of women staff, the company SETE said in a statement.