Eiffel Tower chief to quit after female staff replaced by men during religious visit
Patrick Branco Ruivo, who has run the Paris landmark since 2018, has announced he will leave the post by the end of this year after a controversy erupted over the removal of female employees during a visit by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) delegation.
SETÉ, the company that operates the tower, said an internal review found that “operational flaws and shortcomings” led to the “unacceptable” replacement of women with male colleagues. The replacement happened because BAPS – a Hindu movement that strictly separates men and women in all temple activities – had requested the visit be arranged so “women could not interact” with the delegation.
Employees reported that women were asked to leave their stations and prevented from crossing certain areas. The measure sparked a walk‑out, forcing the tower to close for a few days. Parliamentarians and the mayor of Paris condemned the decision, calling it unjust and absurd. The French National Assembly’s president Yaël Braun‑Pivet said she would not permit women to be stopped from working in order to satisfy foreign visitors.
In response, SETÉ chair Ariel Weil pledged to introduce gender‑equality training and to ensure the leadership transition is smooth. The resignation adds to a growing debate on the role of religious customs in secular public venues.
BAPS has apologised for any pain caused, asserting that its segregation policy is in the best interest of women. Critics argue that such 18th‑century beliefs have no place in today’s world and that keeping women out infringes on equal rights.
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