Paris | The head of the company that runs the Eiffel Tower will step down at the end of the year after female staff at the landmark building in Paris were excluded during a visit by a Hindu religious group.

Patrick Branco Ruivo, director general of the Societe d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel, will leave his post after an investigation conducted by an independent firm uncovered a series of operational failures in relation to the visit on Sept. 5.

The failures resulted "in female staff being excluded from the visit that day, an unacceptable situation," a company statement on Tuesday said. Ruivo was appointed at the end of 2018.

The Eiffel Tower, which attracts 7 million visitors a year, was closed on Sept. 7 due to a staff strike in protest over what a union official described as "unacceptable" management instructions.

Anger grew among staff of the 330-meter (1,083-foot) iconic landmark after management told employees that female workers should not be in contact with the delegation from Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha.

The group, known as BAPS, is a worldwide religious and civic organization within the Swaminarayan sect, a branch of Hinduism. It had been holding celebrations to mark the inauguration of a traditional Hindu stone temple in the Paris region.

BAPS said in a statement to The Associated Press that the group 'never requested that female employees be hidden, removed or excluded from the visit.'' 'The religious practices of our monks were explained to the Eiffel Tower's management in advance. These are personal spiritual commitments, which our monks observe without seeking to impose them on others. They do not require women to be excluded from the places they visit,'' the statement said. The group did not elaborate on what the monks' practices are.

Ariel Weil, the operating company's chair, said on Tuesday he has requested measures and training programs promoting gender equality to be implemented.

It was not the first time the 137-year-old tower has been closed by industrial action. It was shut for six days in February 2024 because of striking employees demanding better maintenance of the historic landmark, and higher wages. (AP)