Eiffel Tower Chief Patrick Branco Ruivo to Step Down After Outrage Over Removal of Female Staff During BAPS Visit
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The operating authority of Paris's iconic landmark, the Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), has announced that its Director General, Patrick Branco Ruivo, will step down from his post at the end of the year. The leadership exit follows widespread public outrage, political condemnation, and a staff strike triggered by the controversial removal and reassignment of female employees during a visit by members of the Hindu socio-spiritual organisation Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) earlier this month.
Internal Probe Cites Operational Failures and Unacceptable Staff Exclusion
Ruivo, who has served as the director general of the historic monument since late 2018, tendered his upcoming departure following an exhaustive internal investigation into the September 5 incident:
Findings of Internal Inquiry: The internal review uncovered critical operational flaws and organizational shortcomings during the delegation's scheduled visit, which led to the inappropriate exclusion of female staff members from their standard operational duties.
Transition Plan: Ariel Weil, Chairman of SETE's Board of Directors, confirmed that the upcoming months will be utilized to facilitate an orderly leadership succession and ensure robust administrative management at the world-renowned monument, which accommodates nearly seven million international tourists annually.
Monument Shutdown and Strike: The September 5 incident had triggered immediate outrage among monument workers, prompting an unscheduled walkout that forced the Eiffel Tower to close down for an entire day in protest against gender-based exclusion.
Paris Mayor Denounces Discrimination in City Landmark
The controversy reverberated strongly across the French political establishment, which strictly defends state secularism (laïcité) and gender equality:
Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire Demands Accountability: Intervening swiftly after worker demonstrations erupted, Paris First Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire ordered an urgent inquiry, declaring the workforce's grievances justified and legitimate.
Upholding Workplace Parity: Condemning the administrative lapses on social media, Grégoire stated that such discriminatory conditions violated core civic values, reaffirming that all professionals must have unrestricted freedom to work across public monuments regardless of gender.
BAPS Organization Issues Statement and Apology
The incident occurred during an early morning visit by approximately 100 members and monks associated with BAPS, ahead of the inauguration of the BAPS Hindu Mandir in the Paris region:
Coordination Narrative: In an official statement, the BAPS temple administration stated that the visit was arranged and scheduled directly with Eiffel Tower management during opening hours specifically to avoid disrupting ordinary tourist flow.
No Denial of Public Access: The organisation clarified that to its understanding, public access was never denied to visitors, while offering its sincere apologies to anyone hurt or inconvenienced by the administrative handling of the visit.
India's MEA Response: Addressing the matter during a routine media briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal acknowledged awareness of the temple's upcoming opening in France, noting that the logistical dispute at the tower remains an internal matter strictly between the entities involved.
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