Head of Eiffel Tower to resign after controversial order to female staff

(NewsNation) — The head of the Eiffel Tower is stepping down after female staff were told to stay out of sight during a visit by a Hindu religious group.

Patrick Branco Ruivo, head of the operating company that runs the famous landmark, will leave his job by the end of the year.

The decision follows an internal investigation into a management order requiring female staff to keep hidden during a visit by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha spiritual movement.

The order caused a staff strike, closing the monument for one day, with tower employees denouncing policies that sidelined female staff in a statement.

The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha movement, known as BAPS, is part of a conservative sect of Hinduism. The group reportedly requested that interactions with women be limited because several monks there took vows forbidding contact with women.

The group later apologized for any inconvenience or offense caused by the request.

Staffers said they found the instructions that ran contrary to French values of equality and nondiscrimination.