BAPS Faces Scrutiny in France as Approval for a Large Temple Near Paris Draws Questions

A strike at the Eiffel Tower in Paris this week thrust the Hindu organization BAPS into the center of mainstream public debate in France. According to France 24, the attention has come too late for Indians living in France who have long tried to alert the public to what the report describes as a far-right Hindu organization.

The report noted that BAPS has faced scrutiny in the United States for more than five years. In France, however, similar questions long failed to enter public debate. The central issue now being raised by the French public is how the organization obtained permission to build a large temple near Paris and why previous concerns never gained momentum.

France 24 placed this time lag itself at the center of its examination: when minority communities had continued to voice concerns, and when years of public scrutiny were already on record in the United States, why did France’s approval and public-response mechanisms fail to intervene earlier? Behind that delay lies a structural disconnect between the sustained voices of minority communities and the mechanisms of public scrutiny.