BAPS Given Clean Chit Over “Explicit Request” to Exclude Women at Eiffel Tower

An investigation by General Inspectorate of the City of Paris has found “no explicit request” from BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akram Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha) to exclude female employees from the Eiffel Tower during a visit by representatives of the Hindu organisation, as per a report. 

The finding comes amid a controversy over the treatment of women staff during the visit and the subsequent disruption at the landmark.

Investigation Finds “No Explicit Request” from BAPS

According to Times of India, the General Inspectorate of the City of Paris (IGVP) examined the circumstances surrounding the visit and allegations that female employees at the Eiffel Tower had been removed from duties because of BAPS's requirements.

The investigation reportedly found no explicit request from BAPS to remove, exclude or hide women employees.

BAPS welcomed the finding and reiterated that it had not asked the Eiffel Tower to prevent women from working during the visit.

Soon after the investigation came out, BAPS posted on X: “From the outset, BAPS has consistently stated that it never asked for female employees to be hidden, removed or excluded. The investigation establishes the fact that BAPS made no such request for the women to be excluded along the visitor route.”

Female Employees Were Still Sidelined

While the investigation did not find an explicit instruction from BAPS, it did establish that several female employees were sidelined during the event.

“The initial request brought to the attention of SETE concerned the lack of physical contact between religious figures and women,”  the investigation report said.

Some women working in reception and customer-relations roles were temporarily asked to leave. A female cleaning employee was reportedly asked to wait, while another female employee was replaced in an elevator.

The findings therefore draw an important distinction between what BAPS allegedly requested and what Eiffel Tower staff ultimately did during the visit.

How the Requirement Was Interpreted

The investigation reportedly traced the episode to a requirement concerning physical contact between the religious visitors and women.

According to the findings, the initial message was subsequently passed through internal channels and gradually interpreted more broadly. What began as a requirement relating to physical contact eventually resulted in female employees being removed or replaced from particular positions.

The IGVP attributed the incident to “an internal process in which a requirement of no contact was progressively translated into the assignment of male staff to several positions, and then extended in its implementation to the point of dismissing or replacing female employees already in place.”

The probe found that the message was distorted through word of mouth.

Eiffel Tower Chief to Step Down

The controversy has also led to changes at the organisation overseeing the Eiffel Tower. Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE) has confirmed that its director general, Patrick Branco Ruivo, will step down by the end of 2026.

A report from AFP suggested an internal investigation by SETE identified “operational flaws and shortcomings” in the arrangements for the visit, which ultimately resulted in female staff being excluded from certain duties that day.

In a statement, SETE acknowledged that the failures led to “female staff being excluded from the visit that day, an unacceptable situation.”

Ruivo has served as SETE’s director general since the end of 2018.