The director of the Eiffel Tower resigns following the scandal over the removal of women from the staff during the visit of a Hindu group

Patrick Branco Ruivo, director of SETE, the company that operates the Eiffel Tower, told employees on Tuesday that he would leave his position by the end of the year, according to Le Figaro. The decision comes days after an incident in which female employees of the monument were allegedly removed from view during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation.

The visit took place at the beginning of the month as part of festivities marking the inauguration of a Hindu temple near Paris. According to union representative Diane Davoine, the female employees were asked to temporarily leave their posts, while male staff members were allegedly assigned to replace them while the delegation passed through.

The incident sparked discontent among employees and led to a one-day strike. Paris authorities also opened an investigation to clarify the circumstances in which the women were sidelined.

Addressing employees, Patrick Branco Ruivo said he had not instructed anyone to exclude or replace the women, but acknowledged that they had, in fact, been sidelined. The Hindu group BAPS Paris publicly apologized and said that, according to its information, no one had been denied access to the Eiffel Tower. Differences over responsibility and how the visit was organized continue to be examined.