Stories
Eiffel Tower Probe Clears BAPS: No Request to Remove Female Staff During Private Visit
- •An official Paris investigation by the General Inspectorate of the City of Paris (IGVP) has cleared BAPS of allegations that it asked the Eiffel Tower to remove female employees during a private visit.
- •The investigation found no written instruction, email, or explicit request from BAPS seeking the exclusion of women, concluding that a limited request was misunderstood and expanded internally.
- •The controversy arose after a private visit by BAPS representatives on September 5, leading to staff protests and a one-day closure of the Eiffel Tower due to alleged sidelining of female employees.
- •While BAPS was cleared, the incident has put the spotlight on SETE, the company operating the Eiffel Tower, and its internal handling of the request, leading to SETE chief Patrick Branco-Ruivo's resignation.
- •SETE had previously acknowledged that the Hindu delegation requested limiting "interactions with women" but stated that "these conditions should not have been accepted."
Key Questions Answered
An official investigation by the General Inspectorate of Sanitizing and City of Paris concluded that BAPS did not issue any written instructions, emails, or explicit requests to remove female employees during their private visit. Investigators found that a limited request from the delegation was gradually distorted and expanded through word of mouth within the Eiffel Tower management structure.
The Eiffel Tower was forced to close after monument staff staged a sudden strike and walkout on Monday. Employees protested following allegations that female staff were sidelined, replaced by male colleagues, and told to avoid certain areas during a September 5 visit by representatives of BAPS.
SETE acknowledged that the visiting delegation had asked for arrangements to limit interactions with women, but stated that these conditions should not have been accepted. Following the uproar, SETE chief Patrick Branco-Ruivo announced that he would step down from his position by the end of the year after an internal investigation revealed operational flaws and shortcomings.
