Eiffel Tower director leaves after female staff excluded
Patrick Branco Ruivo will step down at the end of this year after an inquiry into a visit by a Hindu delegation.
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The director of the company that operates the Eiffel Tower will leave at the end of the year. According to the operator, an independent inquiry found operational shortcomings after female staff were barred from contact with a Hindu delegation during a visit to the tower on 5 September.
Patrick Branco Ruivo has led the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel since 2018. The company says the exclusion of female staff was unacceptable. Precise responsibility for the instructions and organisation of the visit remains part of the inquiry.
The delegation came from BAPS, a Hindu religious organisation. According to reports, staff were told that female employees were not allowed to have contact with the visitors. The City of Paris, the operator’s majority shareholder, said after protests that equality between women and men allows no exceptions.
The dispute led to a strike and the temporary closure of the Eiffel Tower on 7 September. According to AP, the strike concerned management instructions about the position of female staff. The tower attracts around seven million visitors a year and therefore has not only symbolic significance, but also major importance for tourism.
The case touches on two responsibilities that can clash in practice. A host may wish to accommodate visitors’ religious or cultural preferences, but an employer may not exclude staff on the basis of sex without a clear and lawful reason. In this case, responsibility for the work instructions lies with the operator’s management.
After the protests, the City of Paris launched two inquiries: one by SETE with an external independent party and one into the circumstances of the visit. The city has publicly expressed its support for the employees. The new decision on the management follows the independent inquiry’s finding of operational errors.
According to reports, Ruivo will remain in post until the end of the year. Nothing is yet known about a successor. The incident could affect SETE’s internal policy, its handling of religious delegations and the question of how public monuments receive commercial visitors without treating their own staff unequally.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The operator of the Eiffel Tower commissioned an independent inquiry.
- According to the sources, female staff were excluded from contact with the delegation during a religious visit.
- The director will leave at the end of the year.
- The City of Paris says that equality between women and men allows no exceptions.
Left
Arguments A major public attraction must not adapt its employees to visitors’ discriminatory wishes. Equal treatment in the workplace and the protection of staff should carry more weight than ensuring that one visit proceeds smoothly.
Values Emancipation, equality and workers’ rights.
Consequences A strict line may deter some visitors or delegations, but it makes the employer’s policy clearer and protects staff from unequal treatment.
Centre
Arguments The organisation should receive religious visitors respectfully, but within clear rules on equality and employment law. An independent inquiry and better protocols are wiser than broad conclusions about an entire faith community.
Values Institutional responsibility, proportionality and legal certainty.
Consequences Clear protocols can prevent future conflicts while leaving room for religious practices that do not clash with workers’ rights.
Right
Arguments An employer should be able to decide for itself how a visit is organised and should not be forced by political pressure into symbolic measures. At the same time, that administrative freedom must not degenerate into arbitrary discrimination against staff.
Values Administrative autonomy, order and the equal application of rules.
Consequences Greater management freedom may allow for tailored solutions, but requires transparent boundaries to prevent reputational damage and unequal treatment.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core facts were checked against AP and the City of Paris, with independent reporting as a second source. The text attributes unresolved questions of responsibility to the ongoing inquiry.
- confirmed The director of the Eiffel Tower operator will leave at the end of 2026. — AP reports that Patrick Branco Ruivo will leave at the end of the year. source
- confirmed Female staff were kept from contact with the delegation during the 5 September visit. — This is reported by AP and discussed in the Paris communiqué. source
- confirmed The City of Paris is the majority shareholder in SETE. — This is stated in the city’s communiqué. source
- confirmed The Eiffel Tower was temporarily closed on 7 September following a strike. — AP mentions the strike and closure. source
- confirmed The Eiffel Tower attracts around seven million visitors a year. — This figure appears in the AP report. source
Editor's note
The departure, the independent evaluation and the exclusion of female staff have been confirmed by multiple public sources. The full findings of the inquiry and the responsibility of individual parties involved have not yet been made public.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „eiffeltoren parijs”
- RTL Nieuws — „eiffeltoren parijs”
- NOS — „eiffeltoren parijs”