Patrick Branco Ruivo will step down as director general of the Eiffel Tower on December 31, after an internal investigation found that operational failures caused the removal of women staff during a BAPS visit.
The 5 September visit by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) saw the tower's staff walk out and the landmark close for a day, after the delegation requested that women be excluded from the event.
SETE said it had accepted BAPS's request to limit interactions with women, a decision the probe calls "unacceptable." The Paris mayor ordered a separate inquiry into the incident, and BAPS issued a statement apologising for any inconvenience.
Ariel Weil, board chair of SETE, said the company would establish a dedicated protocol department and new training programmes to promote gender equality. The leadership change comes as the tower welcomes nearly seven million visitors annually.