Eiffel Tower boss to stand down after female staff excluded during Hindu group visit

The head of the company which runs the Eiffel Tower is to stand down after female staff were excluded during a visit by a Hindu religious group.

Management told employees that female staff should not be in contact with the delegation from Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) - an organisation which sits within a sect of Hinduism - during the 5 September visit.

The tower was closed two days later after staff went on strike to protest what a union official described as "unacceptable" management instructions.

Patrick Branco Ruivo, director general of the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (SETE), is now set to leave his post at the end of the year, the firm confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.

An independent investigation into the visit discovered a series of operational failures.

SETE said that they resulted "in female staff being excluded from the visit that day", and called it an "unacceptable situation".

Ariel Weil, SETE's chair, said he has called for measures and training programmes promoting gender equality.

The BAPS group was celebrating the inauguration of a traditional Hindu stone temple in Paris at the time of the visit.

Read more from Sky News:
Newborn baby's body found along shoreline
Lindsay Clancy appears in court

It told Sky News in a statement: "We are saddened by the distress experienced by Eiffel Tower employees following our delegation's visit. We wish to make one point unequivocally clear: BAPS never requested that female employees be hidden, removed or excluded from the visit.

"The religious practices of our monks were explained to the Eiffel Tower's management in advance. These are personal spiritual commitments, which our monks observe without seeking to impose them on others. They do not require women to be excluded from the places they visit.

"BAPS respects the equal dignity of women and men. Decisions concerning staffing and the organisation of the visit were the responsibility of the Eiffel Tower's management."

The tower was previously closed for six days in February 2024 as staff went on strike to demand better maintenance of the landmark along with higher wages.

(c) Sky News 2026: Eiffel Tower boss to stand down after female staff excluded during Hindu group visit