Eiffel Tower Chief To Step Down After BAPS Related Female Staff Controversy

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI – Patrick Branco Ruivo, director general of the Eiffel Tower, will step down at the end of the year following a controversy over the removal of female employees during a private visit by members of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, or BAPS.

The company that operates the Paris landmark, SETE, said September 29 that an internal investigation found “operational flaws and shortcomings” in the organization of the visit that resulted in the “unacceptable” removal of women staff. Ruivo has led the Eiffel Tower since 2018.

The controversy began after a BAPS delegation of about 100 people visited the Eiffel Tower earlier this month. SETE said at the time that the group had requested arrangements intended to limit “interactions with women” and acknowledged that “these conditions should not have been accepted.”

Female employees were replaced by male colleagues during the visit. A staff union representative said “women were asked to leave their places of work” and described the experience as “humiliating.” Workers also said female employees had been instructed not to enter or cross certain areas while the delegation was present.

The incident had prompted Eiffel Tower employees to stage a walkout September 8. It also drew condemnation from French political figures and renewed scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding the private visit.

Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of France’s National Assembly, said after the incident: “I refuse to allow women to be compelled to step aside in order to meet the demands of foreign visitors.”

Following the controversy, BAPS issued an apology, saying it was offering “sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by this situation.” (with media reports)