France: Eiffel Tower director resigns after removing female workers during a visit by an Indian delegation

The CEO of the Eiffel Tower, Patrick Branco Ruivo, has announced that he will step down at the end of the year following the scandal sparked by the exclusion of female employees during a visit by a Hindu religious group, according to the monument's managing company, SETE.

An "unacceptable" protocol

An internal investigation confirmed that, during the visit by the Hindu spiritual movement BAPS in early September, there were "operational shortcomings" that led to several female employees being excluded simply because they were women.

According to Sete, the Hindu delegation had requested that "interactions with women" be limited during their tour, a condition the company acknowledges "should not have been accepted."

Ariel Weil, chairman of Sete's board, promised to clarify the facts and take appropriate action. The company described the exclusion of the female employees as "unacceptable."

Women sidelined and replaced by men

Female staff were instructed to leave their posts, move to other areas, and avoid passing through certain zones while the delegation was present. In some cases, they were replaced by men, according to a statement issued by the workers themselves and reported by AFP.

The measure sparked a protest by the staff, which led to the monument's closure for a day, and triggered a wave of criticism across the French political spectrum, which upholds secularism and gender equality as fundamental pillars.

Political reactions and corrective measures

Marine Le Pen, a member of the National Assembly, leader of the National Rally (RN) group in the National Assembly, and presidential primary candidate, wrote on X that "in France, we will never accept that women's presence be 'limited'," and called for clarification of what had happened.

Jordan Bardella, president of RN, was even more explicit: "This degrading demand should never have been complied with. In a free country like France, gender equality is respected, and no religious reason can go against the dignity of women." Bardella added that the values of civilization "are non-negotiable."

The Socialist mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, called the arrangement unacceptable and contrary to the values that the Eiffel Tower should uphold. He announced an investigation and emphasized that equality between women and men does not stop at the foot of monuments.