Eiffel Tower boss to exit post after probe into female staff sidelining

Patrick Branco Ruivo, the head of the company running the Eiffel Tower, will step down from his post at the end of 2026 after an independent investigation exposed serious operational flaws during a private tour. The probe examined a September 5 visit by a delegation of about one hundred people from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a global Hindu group that was in Paris to open a new stone temple in the region. The inquiry found that management faults led to female employees being sidelined, replaced by men, and told to avoid certain areas during the delegation's tour. According to the CGT union, women were rendered invisible based on their gender and felt deeply humiliated by the instructions. Union representative Diane Davoine noted that staff held a meeting to push for dialogue and ensure women never face such treatment again. The 330-metre monument was shut down by a staff strike on September 7 following the incident. Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel admitted that operator representatives had agreed to a request limiting interactions with women, stating that such conditions should never have been accepted. BAPS disputed this version, stating through the Associated Press that its arrangements were purely about logistics and monk practices, and were never intended as a gender-based exclusion. Operating company chair Ariel Weil announced that new measures and gender equality training programs will now be put in place.

Context

Major historic tourist sites operate under strict local labor laws and public equality standards where workplace discrimination of any kind triggers immediate regulatory scrutiny and industrial action. Operators of such monuments must balance private VIP or group booking requests against mandatory employee protections and fair workplace practices. Publicly owned or operated cultural landmarks frequently face strong union representation that acts swiftly when workplace rules or staff dignity are compromised.