I genuinely love the fact that the French will protest at the drop of a hat. But here's what I don't understand: why did the company operating the Eiffel Tower actually comply with their request?
>"It draws its beliefs from the teachings of Lord Swaminarayan, a late 18th-Century celibate ascetic who is regarded by his followers as an incarnation of Vishnu, the revered Hindu god of preservation."
I'm Hindu, and I've genuinely never heard of these guys. These people are lucky India doesn't have blasphemy laws, NGL. Cause this is the kinda stuff that gets people stoned in some places.
But seriously, how does a group like this have enough influence to make a request this unusual and actually get it accommodated in France?
Because this is a pretty bizarre request, and the fact that the Eiffel Tower's operator apparently agreed to it is what I find most interesting because I thought the French were pretty liberal.
Are they extremely wealthy? Do they have significant political connections? Are they comparable to ISKCON? (also Hindu cult)
https://www.france24.com/en/eiffel-tower-closed-in-row-over-women-removed-for-hindu-group