BAPS did not ask explicitly for women staff to be removed, Paris probe finds ‘collective dysfunction’

The BAPS Hindu religious delegation did not explicitly ask for women employees to be removed from the Eiffel Tower during its private visit in September, an investigation by the City of Paris has found.

The findings of the Inspection Générale de la Ville de Paris (IGVP), shared with elected representatives on Thursday, October 1, described the incident as a “collective dysfunction” involving a series of decisions that resulted in female employees being moved away from areas where the delegation was present.

The investigation found that the initial request from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) delegation concerned avoiding physical contact between its religious figures and women. However, the investigation did not establish “the existence of an explicit request aimed at excluding women along the entire route” of the visit.

The delegation visited the Eiffel Tower on September 5 as part of its trip to Paris for events surrounding the inauguration of a large BAPS Hindu temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges. Around 100 people linked to BAPS were part of the delegation.

The initial requirement of “non-contact” progressively translated into assigning male employees to different positions and eventually extended to the removal or replacement of female employees who were already working at their posts.

On the morning of the visit, security posts at the Eiffel Tower were staffed by men. When part of the delegation went up to the North pillar, female employees working in customer relations were asked to temporarily move away from the BAPS group.

A female employee of a cleaning service provider was also asked to wait until her break, while another female employee was replaced in an elevator during the delegation’s descent.

The investigation said, “Through word of mouth, the message was distorted.”

The IGVP also found that “No arbitration, legal opinion or ethical advice” had been sought before the arrangements were implemented. It described the situation as a “collective dysfunction” arising from a combination of individual decisions and collective functioning.

The findings come after the incident triggered a staff walkout and the closure of the Eiffel Tower for a day on September 7. Eiffel Tower employees had protested instructions that female workers should leave their posts or avoid areas where the BAPS delegation was present.

In a statement issued after the incident, Eiffel Tower employees said they had been given instructions that led to female workers being “sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex”. Some employees were asked to leave their posts and move elsewhere, while some were replaced by men.

The controversy had also led to the departure of Patrick Branco Ruivo, director general of the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), the company that operates the monument. SETE announced on September 29 that Ruivo would step down at the end of 2026 following an internal investigation that identified “operational flaws and shortcomings” in the organisation of the visit.

SETE had earlier acknowledged that the BAPS delegation had requested that the visit be organised to limit “interactions with women”, and said that such conditions “should not have been accepted”.

The City of Paris had ordered an investigation following the controversy. The Eiffel Tower is owned by the City of Paris, which holds a 99% stake in SETE.

BAPS France on Thursday welcomed the findings of the investigation and reiterated that it had never asked for female employees to be hidden, removed or excluded.

“From the outset, BAPS has consistently stated that it never asked for female employees to be hidden, removed or excluded,” BAPS France said.

“The investigation establishes this fact that BAPS made no such request for women to be excluded along the visitor route,” it added.

BAPS had previously apologised for the controversy, saying it took the concerns seriously and regretted “any pain or inconvenience caused”. The organisation had also said that, to its knowledge, nobody had been prevented from accessing the Eiffel Tower.

The controversy arose in the context of religious practices followed by BAPS sadhus, or monks. BAPS says its sadhus follow strict vows of celibacy, including restrictions on physical contact and interactions with women.

Following the incident, SETE chair Ariel Weil said the company would introduce a dedicated protocol department as well as new measures and training programmes focused on gender equality, according to the earlier background report.