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 September 5.