Listen to this articleDear 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated using AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We work with our partners to continually review and improve results. The director of the company that manages the Eiffel Tower will resign at the end of the year after female staff at the iconic Paris building were excluded during a visit by a Hindu religious group. Patrick Branco Ruivo, director general of the Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel, will leave his position after an investigation by an independent company uncovered a series of operational failures in relation to the September 5 visit. “Staff were excluded from the visit that day, an unacceptable situation,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Ruivo was appointed in late 2018. The Eiffel Tower, which attracts seven million visitors a year, was closed on September 7 due to a staff strike protesting what a union leader described as “unacceptable” instructions from management. Anger grew among staff at the iconic 330-metre monument after management told employees that female workers should not be in touch with the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha delegation. The group, known as BAPS, is a global civic and religious organization within the Swaminarayan sect, a branch of Hinduism. It had been holding celebrations to mark the inauguration of a traditional Hindu stone temple in the Paris region. The Eiffel Tower was closed on September 7 due to a staff strike in protest of what a union leader described as instructions from management. “unacceptable.” (Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters) BAPS said in a statement to The Associated Press that the group “never requested that female employees be hidden, removed or excluded from the visit.” Ariel Weil, president of the operating company, said on Tuesday that it has requested that measures and training programs be implemented that promote gender equality. in February 2024 as striking employees demanded better maintenance of the historic monument and higher wages.
