Women removed due to Eiffel Tower visit - and the CEO will pay with his job

The CEO of the company operating the Eiffel Tower, Patrick Branco Ruivo, will leave his position following the incident of removing female employees during a visit by a Hindu group. The event, which occurred on September 5, led to a strike and the closure of the tower for a full day. The Paris City Council has opened two investigations.

The CEO of the company operating the Eiffel Tower, Patrick Branco Ruivo, will leave his position following the incident of removing female employees during a visit by a Hindu group. The event occurred on September 5, when union representatives claimed that female employees were asked to wait out of sight while members of the Hindu group Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha visited the tower. According to the organization's website, its monks take vows of celibacy that forbid them from speaking with or touching women. The decision sparked anger among site workers and led to a strike, during which the Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors for one day. Following the uproar, the tower management and the Hindu group issued apologies. Ruivo was not available for comment, but in an internal resignation letter he claimed he did not personally approve the decision to remove the female employees. The Paris City Council, which holds a majority stake in the operating company, has opened two investigations to understand the chain of decisions that led to the situation.