PARIS — Patrick Branco Ruivo, director general of the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (Sete), will leave his post at the end of the year. Sete announced the decision Tuesday, following a controversy involving the exclusion of female staff during a visit by a Hindu religious group earlier in September.
The incident occurred Sept. 5 during a visit by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement. Management at the landmark ordered female employees to remain out of sight during the delegation's presence.
Staff responded with a one-day strike, which forced the monument to close. Employees at the time said the incident reflected "workplace policies that have led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and rendered invisible because of their sex."
Sete's internal inquiry uncovered systemic problems. Some women were asked to leave their posts and wait in separate rooms, while others were replaced by men. All female employees received instructions not to pass through or enter certain areas while the BAPS delegation was on site.
Sete acknowledged that the BAPS delegation had requested that "interactions with women" be limited. "These conditions should not have been accepted," the company stated, admitting fault in acceding to the request. The internal inquiry "uncovered a series of problems and shortcomings in the planning of official visits and the organisation of the 5 September visit," Sete said.
BAPS, which practices a conservative form of Hinduism, said its request stemmed from the presence of several monks, including their spiritual leader, Mahant Swami Maharaj, 93, whose vows forbid any contact with women.
BAPS subsequently issued an apology for "any pain or inconvenience caused" by the incident. Paris City Hall, which supervises the operation of the Eiffel Tower, also apologized for failing to uphold France's republican principle of equality.
The BAPS delegation visited the Eiffel Tower as part of weekend celebrations marking the inauguration of the group's first traditional temple in France, located in Bussy-Saint-Georges east of Paris.
Branco Ruivo, an alumnus of the École Nationale d'Administration, was appointed director general of Sete in November 2018. He previously served as an adviser to former Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, focusing on modernization of public services.
Eiffel Tower employees said they were shocked to find themselves in a situation "deeply contrary to the values of equality and nondiscrimination." They emphasized that the Eiffel Tower, as a symbol of France, "must also be exemplary in the values it promotes and the way it treats staff."
