The head of the Eiffel Tower Operating Company is stepping down at the end of 2026 following an internal inquiry that confirmed female staff were ordered to remain hidden during a visit by a Hindu religious group (BAPS) in September. The decision sparked a staff strike, forced closure of the monument, and widespread outrage over what employees described as violations of France's fundamental values of equality and non-discrimination.

The BAPS delegation had requested limited interactions with women, citing the religious vows of their spiritual leader and monks prohibiting contact with the opposite sex. Female employees were removed from their posts, asked to wait in separate rooms, and barred from certain areas during the visit, which marked the inauguration of the group's first traditional temple in France at Bussy-Saint-Georges, east of Paris. Both BAPS and Paris city hall have since apologised for the incident, with the operating company acknowledging that accepting the group's conditions "should not have been accepted."