Eiffel Tower chief to step down after BAPS Hindu delegation row in Paris

The staff at the 330-metre tower staged a walkout on September 8 after women workers were sidelined during a visit by members of Gujarat-based BAPS.

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Explainer · Paris

Eiffel Tower–BAPS row: what happened, and why the tower’s chief is leaving

A visit by a Hindu religious delegation on September 5 led to a staff protest, an investigation and a leadership change at the company that runs the monument.

SETE, the operator, says BAPS representatives asked for a visit limiting “interactions with women”, and that it should not have agreed.

BAPS says its arrangements were about logistics and were never based on gender.

What happenedWho said whatWhy the chief is leavingBAPS in France

What happened at the Eiffel Tower?

September 2026, with each claim attributed

1. 

   Sept 5

   Delegation visits the tower

   A BAPS delegation of about 100 people visits. According to SETE, the tower’s operator, BAPS representatives had asked for a visit limiting “interactions with women”.

2. 

   Sept 5

   Female staff sidelined

   The CGT union says female employees were “sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex”.

3. 

   Sept 6

   Temple inaugurated

   BAPS inaugurates its Hindu temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges, east of Paris.

4. 

   Sept 7

   Protest and closure

   Staff stop the tower opening normally. SETE says the conditions “should not have been accepted”.

5. 

   Sept 8

   BAPS responds

   BAPS says the arrangement was “never, at any point, intended as a request rooted in gender”.

6. 

   September

   Investigation

   Paris City Hall calls for an inquiry. An independent investigation finds “a series of operational failures”, according to SETE.

7. 

   Sept 29

   Leadership change

   SETE says director general Patrick Branco Ruivo will leave at the end of 2026.

​Operator / official​Staff and union​BAPS

Eiffel Tower–BAPS row: who said what?

The three sides, in their own words

SETE

Tower operator

• BAPS representatives asked for a visit limiting “interactions with women”.
• “These conditions should not have been accepted.”
• Excluding female staff was “an unacceptable situation”.

BAPS

Hindu organisation

• The coordination was “purely a matter of operational courtesy and logistics”.
• It was “never, at any point, intended as a request rooted in gender”.
• The early visit was meant to limit disruption; BAPS says no one was prevented from accessing the tower, and it apologised for any inconvenience.

Workers

CGT union and staff

• Female employees were “sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex”, the CGT says.
• Staff say women were asked to leave their posts, and some were replaced by male colleagues.

Quotes as reported by AP, AFP and Eastern Eye. BAPS disputes that its request was gender-based.

Why is the Eiffel Tower chief leaving?

How the September 5 visit led to a leadership change

1. 

   Sept 5 BAPS visit

   About 100 delegates
2. 

   Operational failures

   Investigation finding, per SETE
3. 

   Female staff excluded

   “Unacceptable”, says SETE
4. 

   Staff protest

   Sept 7: tower does not open normally
5. 

   Investigation

   Independent inquiry
6. 

   Ruivo to leave

   End of 2026, SETE says

Patrick Branco RuivoDirector general of SETE since the end of 2018. He will leave at the end of 2026.

What SETE is changingMeasures and training to promote gender equality, announced by SETE chair Ariel Weil.

BAPS in France

The delegation was in Paris for the inauguration of a new Hindu temple

​​Ahmedabad, IndiaBAPS headquartersParis regionNew BAPS temple

Eiffel Tower

~30 km

Bussy-Saint-Georges temple

• The temple: BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir, in Bussy-Saint-Georges, east of Paris
• Opened: September 6, 2026, by BAPS leader Mahant Swami Maharaj
• A first: described as France’s first traditionally designed Hindu temple
• Made in India: its stone carvings were crafted in India and shipped to France

India’s boundaries as recognised by the Government of India. Distance is approximate, in a straight line.

Sources: statements by SETE, BAPS and the CGT union, as reported by AP, AFP and Eastern Eye; IOL; Business Today. Map: Natural Earth.

Express InfoGenIE

Eiffel Tower closed after women staff ‘sidelined’

The iconic Paris landmark was closed following the protests by the staff after a delegation linked to BAPS made a private visit to the Eiffel Tower.

In a statement, the local trade union condemned “workplace instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and rendered invisible based on their gender”, according to the French media.

“Some were asked to leave their posts and withdraw to other areas. In some posts they were replaced by men. And all female employees were instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present,” according to the statement quoted by French media.

Union representative Diane Davoine said, “Women were asked to leave their workstations so that men could take their places.”

“That absolutely does not go down well with the employees, with women obviously — who are all humiliated by what happened, by the way some were treated,” Davoine told Reuters.

“Tensions mounted over the weekend, so this morning the employees decided to meet: First, to open a dialogue with management, and second, to ensure that women are never treated this way at the company again,” she said.

Davoine added that the management had since apologised to workers over the incident.

BAPS issued apology

BAPS said the Eiffel Tower visit had been scheduled at the start of normal opening hours because of the size of its delegation and to minimise disruption.

“To the best of our knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access to the Eiffel Tower. Nevertheless, we sincerely apologise for any pain or inconvenience caused. We believe in the universal values of mutual respect and service,” the organisation said.

BAPS also said the arrangements were intended as a matter of operational courtesy and logistics and were not rooted in gender.

The group was in France for celebrations linked to the inauguration of a Hindu temple near Paris.

Investigation leads to leadership change

SETE said an investigation into the organisation of the September 5 visit found a series of operational failures and shortcomings.

Associated Press reported that the investigation was conducted by an independent firm and found that the failures resulted in female staff being excluded from the visit, which SETE described as “an unacceptable situation”.

Ruivo will now leave the organisation at the end of the year.

SETE board chairman Ariel Weil said the company would use the coming months to prepare for the leadership transition. He also called for the creation of a “dedicated protocol department” and new measures and training programmes to promote gender equality.

The departure does not, by itself, establish that Ruivo personally ordered female employees to be removed. A French report said Ruivo told employees that he had not given instructions to remove or replace women, while acknowledging that women had nevertheless been sidelined during the visit.

The Eiffel Tower, which stands 330 metres tall and attracts around seven million visitors a year, is owned by the City of Paris and operated by SETE.