From US labour row to Eiffel Tower shutdown, Swaminarayan sect faces fresh Paris controversy over women being sidelined

New Delhi: The Eiffel Tower was temporarily shut on Monday after employees protested over allegations that female staff were asked to move away from their workstations during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation linked to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (Baps). The incident, which took place during a visit by around 100 members of the delegation on Saturday, has prompted an investigation by Paris authorities.

Union representative Diane Davoine said female employees were asked to leave their workstations as the delegation passed through, with male employees taking their places, Reuters reported. Staff later confronted management over the incident, with employees seeking assurances that similar arrangements would not be allowed in the future.

The Eiffel Tower operator, SETE, acknowledged that the delegation had requested arrangements to limit interactions with female employees and said such conditions should not have been accepted. Management apologised to staff, while Baps said the visit had been scheduled at the beginning of opening hours because of the size of the group and to avoid disrupting other visitors.

Baps also said it did not know that anyone had been prevented from accessing the monument and apologiszed for any distress caused. The organization maintained that there had been no intention to exclude people, while the dispute has now centred on how the requested arrangements were handled by the Eiffel Tower’s management.

Monday shutdown draws political response

The Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors on Monday as staff protested, with the shutdown officially attributed to operational reasons. Paris mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, backed the employees and announced an urgent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the visit.

Paris national assembly president, Yael Braun-Pivet, also criticized the reported treatment of female employees, saying equality and the visibility of women are fundamental French values. The episode has therefore moved beyond an internal workplace dispute, with French officials examining whether the arrangements agreed for the private visit were compatible with those principles.

Why Baps was at Eiffel Tower

The delegation was in Paris around the inauguration of the new Baps Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir in Bussy-Saint-Georges, around 30km east of the French capital. The Eiffel Tower visit formed part of the group’s programme during its stay in the city, with Reuters reporting that around 100 members took part in the private visit.

The visit came just before the consecration of the new temple, which was held on Sunday. The temple is France’s first traditionally designed Hindu temple and is located in the eastern Paris suburb of Bussy-Saint-Georges, where it has emerged as a major new centre for the Hindu community.

Modi calls temple a milestone for India-France ties

The prime minister, Narendra Modi, virtually addressed the inauguration of the Baps Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir on Sunday and described the occasion as a milestone in India-France cultural ties. He highlighted the wider relationship between the two countries and the temple’s significance as a symbol of India’s cultural presence in France.

The temple project also reflects a combination of Indian religious architecture and French expertise. Its traditional design and Indian craftsmanship have been presented as part of a broader cultural exchange between the two countries, adding a cultural dimension to the already close India-France relationship.

Baps earlier US labour controversy

Baps, a global Hindu socio-spiritual organization rooted in the Swaminarayan tradition, faced a major labour controversy in the United States in 2021 over its temple construction project in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Six Indian workers filed a federal lawsuit alleging that they and more than 200 other Indian nationals had been recruited to the US on religious visas but were instead made to perform extensive manual construction work under harsh conditions, CNN reported.

According to the lawsuit cited by the New York Times, the workers alleged that they were made to work nearly 13 hours a day, seven days a week, for the equivalent of about $450 a month. The complaint further alleged that that their passports were taken away and they were kept within a guarded temple compound with restrictions on their movement and communication.

Baps disputed the allegations. Its representatives told the New York Times that the men were specialized religious artisans and volunteers performing seva, or religious service, rather than conventional employees, while the organization said it believed the accusations would ultimately prove to be without merit. CNN also reported that the FBI was present at the Robbinsville temple in 2021 on what it described as court-authorized law enforcement activity, although the agency did not provide further details.

Investigation now focuses on Eiffel Tower arrangements

The current Paris controversy is separate from the earlier US labour dispute and centres on the handling of Saturday’s private visit. The investigation is expected to examine what was requested by the delegation, what conditions were accepted by Eiffel Tower management and why female employees were moved from their usual positions.