The federal government on Tuesday (September 8, 2026) confronted questions over its hyperlinks to a spiritual group whose allegedly “anti-women” calls for triggered the enduring Eiffel Tower in Paris to close down for a day, resulting in a serious political row in France. Paris metropolis officers have begun a proper inquiry into the incident, and the Hindu group, referred to as BAPS, denied making any calls for to “restrict interactions” with girls staff on the tower.
The shutdown got here a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a temple constructed by BAPS in a Paris suburb. In a 10-minute digital tackle, Mr. Modi had known as the development a “new chapter” in India-France cultural relations. The Exterior Affairs Ministry stated the Prime Minister typically addressed such occasions and India was not concerned within the controversy on the Eiffel Tower.
In response to officers managing the Eiffel Tower, BAPS leaders, who had been in Paris for the temple’s inauguration and deliberate a weekend go to to the landmark, particularly requested for ladies staff to be moved out of sight of the delegation of monks, significantly their 93-year-old chief. The union of the Eiffel Tower staff, which known as the one-day strike in solidarity with feminine colleagues, stated the ladies, who had been changed by males at sure posts, had been instructed to not cross sure areas whereas the delegation was current.
“We’re conscious of the opening of a temple by the BAPS Sanstha within the Paris space. As to the problem pertaining to the Tower, this can be a matter purely between the entities [BAPS and the Eiffel Tower authorities] involved,” Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated in his first response to the controversy.
To a follow-up query from The Hindu on whether or not the federal government has requested BAPS for a proof of its alleged demand to disclaim girls staff entry to elements of the Eiffel Tower or whether or not it will now distance itself from the group, Mr. Jaiswal stated that it was a “widespread apply” for the Prime Minister to “convey his good needs” on such events, and there could be no remark.
Earlier this 12 months, India’s Ambassador to France, Sanjeev Singla, had spoken at a ceremony for the temple. India’s Ambassador to UNESCO, Vishal Verma, praised the BAPS group in a social media submit on Tuesday and stated his spouse had participated within the “shilanyas” or stone-laying ceremony of the temple in 2022.
The group, known as the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha or BAPS, is understood for the Akshardham temple in Delhi. It runs temples the world over and is headquartered in Ahmedabad. Whereas girls are a part of the organisation, it’s recognized for strict guidelines for its celibate monks and segregation between women and men.
In written responses to The Hindu, BAPS denied having made the requests. “We wish to be unequivocally clear: this coordination was undertaken purely as a matter of operational courtesy and logistics to make sure a clean go to for a big group with out inconveniencing the Tower’s staff or the general public,” BAPS, France, stated, stating that the delegation had greater than 100 members. “It was by no means, at any level, meant as a request rooted in gender, and any suggestion on the contrary doesn’t replicate the spirit or values of our fellowship or the delegation,” it added, insisting that BAPS didn’t know concerning the denial of entry to anybody.
Girls workers allegedly sidelined throughout BAPS’ Eiffel Tower go to; Paris probes claims
Girls workers allegedly sidelined throughout BAPS’ Eiffel Tower go to; Paris probes claims
| Video Credit score:
The Hindu
Nonetheless, the ladies staff had stated earlier that they had been made to really feel “invisible”. French right-wing and centrist opposition leaders criticised the Macron authorities for the incident and demanded a proof.
“In France, we don’t ask girls to erase themselves. No dogma, no faith is above the legal guidelines of the Republic,” France’s Equality Minister Aurore Berge stated in response. A number of French commentators questioned the explanations behind the group’s affect, pointing to the BAPS temple within the U.S. that confronted authorized circumstances after the Federal Bureau of investigation accused the group of labour code violations.
On Monday, the Mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, ordered an inquiry into the incident, whereas the President of the operator SETE (Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel) Ariel Weil issued an apology.
“I perceive the emotion of the Eiffel Tower workers: no motive of a spiritual order may justify a distinction primarily based on gender or some other discriminatory consideration in welcoming the general public,” Mr. Weil stated in a social media submit.
(With inputs from Sriram Lakshman in London)
Will the Eiffel Tower row pressure India-France ties? | Above the Fold | 8 Sept 2026
Will the Eiffel Tower row pressure India-France ties? | Above the Fold | 8 Sept 2026
| Video Credit score:
The Hindu
Revealed – September 08, 2026 10:38 pm IST
