What changed
Patrick Branco Ruivo, head of the Eiffel Tower’s operating company Sete, will leave at the end of 2026 after an inquiry into a 5 September visit by the BAPS Hindu movement. Female employees were told to stay out of certain areas, and some were replaced by men; the decision triggered a one-day strike that closed the tower.
Why it matters
This was not a minor scheduling dispute. It put a workplace rule at the heart of one of France’s most visible public landmarks: women were sidelined because a visiting group asked to limit interactions with them.
Sete said the visit’s planning exposed “an unacceptable situation”. BAPS said monks’ vows prohibited contact with women, then apologised for the pain and inconvenience caused. Paris city hall also apologised for failing to uphold equality.
The leadership change is therefore the clearest consequence so far. But it does not settle what happens next. Ruivo’s successor has not been identified, and no operational reforms have been confirmed. The harder test will be whether future official visits are organised around the Eiffel Tower’s workplace standards, rather than allowing a guest’s restrictions to reshape them.
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