The chief executive of the organization overseeing the Eiffel Tower will resign by the year’s end following an incident where female staff members were excluded during a visit by a Hindu group in Paris. Patrick Branco Ruivo, the general director of the Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel, will depart his role after an independent investigation revealed operational shortcomings during the visit on September 5. These failures led to the exclusion of female staff members, deemed an unacceptable circumstance by the company in a statement released on Tuesday. Ruivo assumed his position at the close of 2018.
The Eiffel Tower, a renowned attraction welcoming seven million visitors annually, faced closure on September 7 due to a staff strike in objection to what a union representative labeled as inappropriate management directives. Tensions escalated among the 330-meter tower’s employees when management instructed that female workers should not engage with the delegation from Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, commonly known as BAPS. This group, affiliated with the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism, was celebrating the inauguration of a traditional Hindu temple in the Paris area.
In response to the situation, BAPS clarified to The Associated Press that they did not request the exclusion or removal of female employees during the visit. They highlighted that their monks’ religious practices were communicated to the Eiffel Tower management beforehand, emphasizing that these practices are personal and not intended to impose restrictions on others, including the exclusion of women. The specific practices of the monks were not detailed in the statement.
Ariel Weil, the company’s chairman, announced on Tuesday the initiation of actions and training initiatives focused on promoting gender equality within the organization. This closure of the Eiffel Tower is not the first due to labor disputes, as the historic landmark was previously shut down for six days in February 2024 when employees demanded improved maintenance and higher wages.