EIFFEL TOWER OPERATOR CHIEF TO STEP DOWN OVER FEMALE STAFF EXCLUSION

Patrick Branco Ruivo, chief executive of the Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), which operates the Eiffel Tower, is to leave his post by the end of the year. SETE announced the departure on Tuesday, following an inquiry into the exclusion of female staff during a visit by a Hindu religious group on 5 September. The company said the inquiry found "a series of problems and shortcomings" in planning the visit, calling the resulting exclusion of female staff "an unacceptable situation." The delegation was from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, known as BAPS, a worldwide Hindu religious and civic organisation. SETE said BAPS had asked that "interactions with women" be limited.

Employees said female staff were told to leave their posts, wait in separate rooms, and were sometimes replaced by men, with some areas off-limits while the delegation was present. Staff described the situation as "deeply contrary to the values of equality and non-discrimination." The exclusion prompted a one-day strike that closed the monument, which a union official called a response to "unacceptable" instructions. BAPS had been holding celebrations in Paris to mark the inauguration of a Hindu stone temple. Ruivo had led SETE as director general since the end of 2018.

Ariel Weil, chair of SETE, said she had asked for gender-equality measures and training to be introduced at the company. The tower attracts around 7 million visitors a year and has operated for 137 years, according to SETE. It was also shut for six days in February 2024, when staff struck over demands for better maintenance and higher pay. Ruivo's departure follows directly from the findings of the inquiry into the 5 September visit.