A probe into the controversy surrounding the exclusion of female staff during a private visit by a delegation of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) to the Eiffel Tower has found that the religious organisation made “no explicit request” to remove women employees from their positions, as reported in Hindustan Times.
The findings, reported by French newspaper Le Parisien, came after an investigation by the General Inspectorate of the City of Paris (IGVP) into the incident, which triggered a strike by Eiffel Tower employees and forced the landmark to remain closed for a day.
Female staff members had alleged that they were sidelined during the BAPS delegation’s private visit last month. BAPS had denied the allegations.
Probe Finds ‘Collective Dysfunction’ And Distorted Communication
According to the IGVP investigation, the incident resulted from an internal communication failure rather than an explicit instruction from BAPS to exclude female employees.
The investigation found that the original request communicated to the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), the company operating the Eiffel Tower, concerned “the lack of physical contact between religious figures and women.”
However, the instruction was subsequently interpreted and implemented more broadly by staff.
On the day of the BAPS visit, security positions were assigned “that very morning” to male employees, including posts held by agents in charge and staff stationed at the exits of the elevators.
The investigation also found that employees working at reception and in customer relations were asked to temporarily leave while part of the delegation was taken up through the North pillar.
A female employee working for a cleaning services provider was reportedly required to wait until her break, while another female employee was replaced by a male employee in an elevator during the delegation’s descent.
The sequence of decisions eventually resulted in several female employees being sidelined or replaced during the visit.
The City of Paris Inspector General attributed the episode to “an internal process in which a requirement for no contact was progressively translated into the assignment of male staff to various positions, and then extended in its implementation to the point of dismissing or replacing female employees already in place.”
The report concluded that “through word of mouth, the message was distorted.”
The investigation described the episode as a case of “collective dysfunction”, with the original instruction becoming increasingly broad as it passed between employees.
Eiffel Tower Operator’s Chief To Step Down
The controversy has also resulted in consequences for the management of SETE.
SETE confirmed that its Director General Patrick Branco Ruivo will leave his position by the end of the year.
According to AFP, the company said an internal investigation had identified “operational flaws and shortcomings” in the organisation of the BAPS visit, which ultimately resulted in female employees being excluded.
SETE described the exclusion of female staff as “an unacceptable situation.”
Ruivo has served as SETE’s Director General since the end of 2018.
— BAPS Mandir Swaminarayan Hindou de Paris (@BAPSParis) October 1, 2026
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