The operating company that runs the Eiffel Tower said that its chief would step down at the end of this year in the wake of a controversy over the removal of women staff during a visit by a Hindu religious group, Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), earlier this month.
The company named Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), in a statement, said Patrick Branco Ruivo, who has been director general of the Paris landmark since 2018, would leave his job at the end of the year after an internal probe revealed that “operational flaws and shortcomings” in organising the visit led to the “unacceptable” removal of women staff, according to news agency AFP.
“The coming months will allow us to prepare for the leadership transition under the best possible conditions,” said Ariel Weil, SETE’s board chairman.
Ruivo has served as the director general of SETE since the end of 2018.
What happened?
The Eiffel Tower, which is owned by the city of Paris, says it receives nearly seven million people a year.
The removal of women staff during a visit by the BAPS spiritual movement on September 5 prompted a staff walkout and the closure of the monument for a day, as well as an outcry across the political spectrum in France, which prizes secularism and gender equality.
After the matter came to light, Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grgoire has ordered an investigation into the allegations behind the protest at the Eiffel Tower, saying workers’ concerns were justified and deserved urgent attention.
In a post on X, Grgoire said he had taken note of the anger expressed by employees and acknowledged that their frustration was legitimate. “It is unacceptable that such conditions could be tolerated,” he wrote, adding that they did not reflect either his values or those that the Eiffel Tower should represent.
He also stressed that everyone should be able to work and move freely without discrimination, regardless of gender, and said equality between women and men must be upheld everywhere in Paris, including at its most iconic landmarks. “It is essential that the circumstances that led to this mobilisation are fully clarified,” Grgoire said, pledging that an investigation would be launched as quickly as possible.
What did BAPS say?
The incident took place when around 100 people associated with BAPS visited the Eiffel Tower. The visit came shortly before the opening of the BAPS Hindu Mandir of Paris, described by the organisation as its first traditional Hindu temple in France.
The BAPS has said the visit was coordinated with Eiffel Tower authorities to minimise disruption and ensure normal access for visitors. In a statement posted on X, the temple stated the large delegation’s visit had been scheduled in consultation with Eiffel Tower management at the start of regular opening hours to reduce inconvenience to the public.
The BAPS Hindu temple in Paris also apologised, saying it understood the concerns raised and was taking them “very seriously”. The organisation said the visit had been coordinated with Eiffel Tower teams and arranged at the start of normal opening hours to minimise disruption to other visitors.
“To our knowledge, at no time was access to the Eiffel Tower denied to anyone,” BAPS said, while offering “our sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or inconvenienced by this situation”.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also responded to the controversy. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the ministry was aware of the opening of a BAPS temple in the Paris area but described the issue at the tower as a matter between the organisations involved. Speaking at a media briefing in New Delhi, Randhir Jaiswal said, “We are aware of the opening of a temple by the BAPS Sanstha in the Paris area. As to the particular issue pertaining to the Tower, this is a matter purely between the entities concerned.”
(With AFP inputs)
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