An operator of the Eiffel Tower announced that Director Patrick Branco Ruivo will leave his post at the end of 2026. This decision followed an internal investigation concerning a situation where female employees were sidelined during a visit by a delegation from the Hindu organization BAPS.
The company managing the Eiffel Tower stated that the head of the company would depart due to concerns raised by the exclusion of female staff during the religious group's visit. Previously, it was reported that the attraction had been closed at the beginning of the current month due to a staff strike protesting the removal of female colleagues during the visit of this Hindu group.
The visit took place on the same day as a cultural water parade on the Seine, organized by the spiritual movement Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). Eiffel Tower staff condemned 'professional instructions that led to female employees being pushed aside, replaced, and rendered invisible because of their gender' during the delegation's visit.
Following this, the BAPS movement issued apologies on social media for the incident. The organization wrote on X: 'To our knowledge, no one was prevented from accessing the Eiffel Tower.' BAPS also explained that 'due to the size of our delegation, the visit was organized in conjunction with the Eiffel Tower team at the beginning of normal working hours to avoid disruption or inconvenience to others.'
The company SETE reported in a statement that Patrick Branco Ruivo, who has managed the Parisian landmark since 2018, will conclude his work at the end of the year. The reason cited was that an internal review revealed that 'operational shortcomings and deficiencies' in organizing the visit led to the 'unacceptable' exclusion of women from the staff.
