Experts who restored Notre-Dame help build first major Hindu Temple in Paris

France will soon be home to its first major Hindu temple, opening next month in Bussy-Saint-Georges, a suburb east of Paris. The temple will be part of a 13-day festival beginning September 2. Gujarat-based Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) built the temple in collaboration with French architecture and engineering firms, including stone specialists H Chevalier, which worked on the Notre-Dame cathedral restoration after a fire destroyed its roof and spire in April 2019.

The temple, located at the Cultural Centre in Bussy-Saint-Georges, features traditional elements such as five shikhar (spires), 10 ghummat (domes), 120 jharukha (ornate windows), and four chhatri (canopies). It will also include a sports hall, café, crèche, classrooms, assembly halls, and seminar halls. The 5,000 sq meter complex will offer visitors from all backgrounds, and its opening will be accompanied by a cultural procession along the Seine river on September 3.

French firms Arte Charpentier, Bateg, and GS Construction were involved in the temple's construction, alongside artisans from India who crafted over 1,000 stone components. The temple's opening is seen as a historic moment for Hindu families in France and a testament to the collaboration between India and France in preserving and promoting Hindu culture and faith.