The head of the company operating the Eiffel Tower will step down at the end of this year following a controversy over the removal of female staff during a private visit by members of a Hindu religious organisation, the company said on Tuesday.
Patrick Branco Ruivo, who has led the Paris landmark since 2018, will leave his position after an internal investigation found “operational flaws and shortcomings” in the organisation of the visit that resulted in the “unacceptable” removal of women employees, according to SETE, the company that operates the 330-metre Eiffel Tower.
The controversy began when female workers were sidelined during a visit by members of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, known as BAPS. Staff at the Eiffel Tower staged a walkout on September 8, protesting against management’s decision to remove the women from their duties several days earlier.
BAPS is a worldwide religious and civic organisation within the Swaminarayan sect, a conservative branch of Hinduism. The group has ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was in France for celebrations marking the inauguration of a traditional Hindu stone temple near Paris.
The decision to remove the women workers triggered widespread criticism in France, with politicians from across the political spectrum denouncing what they described as an attack on fundamental liberties. The controversy also brought increased scrutiny of BAPS and its activities in France.
Following the incident, BAPS issued a statement offering “sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by this situation”. The supplied account does not indicate that the organisation accepted responsibility for the decision to remove the Eiffel Tower employees.
SETE said its internal inquiry had established shortcomings in the way the private visit was organised. The company did not provide further details in the statement about the specific operational failures that led to the removal of the women or identify who had made the decision.
The departure of Branco Ruivo represents the principal management consequence announced following the inquiry. He has headed the Eiffel Tower since 2018 and will remain in his position until the end of the year.
Ariel Weil, chair of SETE, said the company would also introduce measures and training programmes designed to promote gender equality. The announcement comes after the staff walkout and the political and public reaction to the treatment of female employees.
The controversy has also exposed divisions within the Indian diaspora in France over BAPS, even as the organisation’s supporters and critics have debated its role and activities. The dispute has therefore extended beyond the management of the Eiffel Tower to questions about religious practices, workplace treatment and fundamental liberties.
SETE’s statement characterised the removal of the women as “unacceptable” and attributed it to failures in the organisation of the visit. Branco Ruivo is due to leave his post at the end of 2026.
