A rare labor strike at the Eiffel Tower on September 7 has drawn global attention to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a Hindu religious organization with deep ties to India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The industrial action followed a demand made on September 5, 2026, by Mahant Swami Maharaj, who heads BAPS and posed for a photograph at the Eiffel Tower that day, when his delegation requested that female employees be removed from the site. The monks, who practice celibacy, stated they do not interact with women.
The Eiffel Tower, which is typically open to the public 365 days a year, saw its operations disrupted as the CGT French Trade Union organized the strike to protest the treatment of their female colleagues. The union explicitly condemned the move, stating that female staff were being "sidelined, replaced and rendered invisible on the basis of their gender." The protest received broad public support and condemnation from across the French political spectrum. Marine Le Pen, a prominent far-right leader, stated that France would never accept the limitation of women’s presence, while the French equality minister asserted that no religious dogma is above the laws of the Republic. The mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, has expressed full support for the workers and ordered an investigation into the incident.
The BAPS delegation visited the tower in connection with the September 6 inauguration of a new Hindu temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges, located on the outskirts of Paris. The event was inaugurated virtually by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in 2024 also inaugurated its temple in Abu Dhabi, the first in a Gulf nation. While the Indian Ministry of External Affairs acknowledged the controversy, it stated it was not involved in the matter. The France chapter of BAPS subsequently issued a statement claiming that no staff or visitors were denied access at any point and apologized for any inconvenience caused.
BAPS is a prominent "socio-spiritual" organization founded in 1907 in Gujarat. It maintains significant political influence and is known for constructing massive temples globally, including sites in the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Australia, and the UAE. Despite its spiritual mission, the organization has faced past scrutiny. In 2023, BAPS inaugurated a $96 million, 180-acre temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Two years earlier, workers had filed a lawsuit accusing BAPS of bringing them into the U.S. on religious visas, confiscating their passports and making them work for roughly $1.20 an hour, a claim BAPS has denied. The organization has 12 major temples in the U.S. alone.
The incident in Paris has sparked a backlash from Indian women’s groups, such as the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), which criticized the sect’s ideology. Meanwhile, members of the Indian diaspora in Paris, including the collective Indian Alliance Paris, have expressed concern that the incident could fuel anti-immigrant sentiment. They emphasized that BAPS does not represent all Hindus and cautioned against using the controversy to promote racism against the Indian community.
You have reached the limit of 2 free articles this month.
The organization is akin to a powerful religious empire with considerable political clout. It has a strong following among wealthy Gujaratis living abroad, especially the Patels, and receives massive donations from them. The Patidar community, to which the Patels belong, has long been strong supporters of the BJP.
