BAPS monk calls Eiffel Tower row a miscommunication, blames no one

BAPS monk Brahmavihari Swami has called the controversy over women employees being sidelined during the Hindu organisation’s private visit to the Eiffel Tower in Paris on 5 September a “miscommunication”, adding that he does not blame the monument’s management. Speaking at the NDTV World Summit on Friday, 23 October, he said an investigation by the General Inspectorate of the City of Paris found no written evidence that the delegation had explicitly requested the exclusion of women from the entire procession. The episode prompted a staff walkout, the monument’s closure for a day and criticism in France, where secularism and gender equality are central values.

The monk explained that BAPS engaged with French authorities for nearly a decade before securing permission to build a temple in the country. He said the monastic practice of brahmacharya is a personal spiritual discipline, never enforced on others, and that human life takes precedence over religious rules. Eiffel Tower operating company SETE earlier acknowledged the delegation had requested arrangements to limit interactions with women, which it said should not have been accepted. Its chief, Patrick Branco Ruivo, will step down at the end of the year following an internal inquiry that identified operational shortcomings.