{
  "id": 10725412,
  "title": "Eiffel Tower chief to quit after female staff told to stay hidden during Hindu group visit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/eiffel-tower-chief-to-quit-after-female-staff-told-to-stay-hidden",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-29T15:57:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/29/eiffel-tower-chief-to-quit-female-staff-hindu-visit"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The head of the Eiffel Tower's operating company, Patrick Branco Ruivo, will resign at the end of the year after a controversy over female staff being instructed to stay out of sight during a visit by a Hindu religious group sparked outrage and a staff strike. The Eiffel Tower Operating Company (Sete) disclosed on Tuesday that Branco Ruivo would depart from his position, following an internal investigation into the management's decision to exclude women during the visit by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (Baps) spiritual movement in September. This exclusion led to a one-day strike, forcing the monument to close. The exclusion of female staff from certain areas during the visit sparked widespread outrage and prompted Sete to admit that the conditions should not have been accepted. Baps, a conservative Hindu group, had requested that interactions with women be limited, citing the vows of their spiritual leader, Mahant Swami Maharaj, who is 93 years old and has taken a vow of celibacy. City hall, which supervises the operation of the Paris landmark, also apologized for its failure to uphold France's republican principle of equality. Baps subsequently apologized for any pain or inconvenience caused by the incident.",
  "summary": "Patrick Branco Ruivo to leave post after decision contrary to France’s ‘value of equality’ sparked outrage and strike The head of the operating company that runs the Eiffel Tower is to step down in the wake of a row over women staff being ordered to stay out of sight during a visit by a Hindu religious group. Patrick Branco Ruivo will leave his job at the end of the year, the Eiffel Tower…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}