Vans parade. A black one, then a white one. In turn, the vehicles rush into the bowels of the new Scientology headquarters in France. On board: fans, alone or with family. This 7,000 m² glass polygon, recently renovated in Saint-Denis, a stone’s throw from the Stade de France, has not yet opened and guests are already flocking there. Privilege of “ministers”, the name given to those who head Scientology offices.
On this day in March, the meetings are one after the other. In the parking lot, at the back, workers are cleaning, coating, cutting. The place, a new church, the third space dedicated to Scientology in Ile-de-France, must be inaugurated in the coming weeks. A pivotal moment, the peak of the organization’s “expansion” efforts in France, she said in her press releases.
The gardener who finishes the shop front, in his twenties, only speaks English. He likes short lawns, like his hair. Above him, letters hang, covered in black plastic. At nightfall, when the final preparations are completed, they will sparkle, like the signs of the large companies next door. It can read: “Church of Scientology”, from the street, from the nearby A1 motorway, or when going to the stadium on foot, for a match or for the Olympic Games.
The director, Tom Cruise and “chartered buses”
With its aquatic center built for the global event, the district promises to be one of the beating hearts of the competition, and at the same time the lung of French Scientology. No wonder: Euro football in 2016, surfing events in Lacanau (Gironde)… Fans have gotten into the habit of scouring sports competitions to make themselves known, recruit, and collect donations. They were there on November 5, the evening of the Rugby World Cup final. “As soon as there is a gathering, they come with fluorescent vests,” describes Daniel Sisco, president of ADFI-Paris, an association which defends victims of sects.
Three months before the Olympic Games, the organization is taking care of its opening ceremony. The date was mentioned to L’Express by its members. It is now official: it will be April 6. On the program, two days of celebrations, open to the public, with “religious services”, conferences, dinners and coffees offered. “It is time to enlighten the world from Paris”, we can read on the flyers which begin to be distributed this Thursday, to the great dismay of associations fighting against sectarian aberrations.
According to our information, its director David Miscavige will be present, as well as other executives. Tom Cruise will also be there. The actor is one of the proudest representatives of the organization. “There are bound to be people and celebrities, even if it means chartering buses. An inauguration is a show of force,” notes Lucas Le Gall, former high-ranking Scientologist who officiated in the United States and author of A billion years (Cherche midi, 2020).
The organization invited so many that it had to submit road occupation requests to the Seine-Saint-Denis prefecture, we learned. The party risks spilling out onto the street, where several temp agencies, a division of the tax department, and the editorial staff of the daily sit pell-mell. 20 minutes. So many potential flirtations. Since the indictment by French justice of several of its members in 2022, for acts of “complicity in bankruptcy” and “abuse of corporate assets”, the Church of Scientology has been the subject of accusations of ” coring”.
Members who are becoming rare
As brilliant as it is, the construction of this new place of worship is more of a last stand. Since its conviction in 2012 for fraud, the American organization has been suffocating in France, where it has never managed to recruit the stars who made its success across the Atlantic. Officially, it says it has 40,000 French members. In 2005, a parliamentary commission of inquiry put forward the figure of 2,000. “It comes down to a few hundred now”, believes Lucas Le Gall, who has now broken his ban with the organization. On the Internet, a list is circulating, without knowing exactly its origin. Dating from 2015, it lists all French people whose links are proven. There are less than 400.
These recruitment difficulties add to the response of the French authorities. Unlike the Netherlands, or Greece, countries which recently recognized the organization as a cult in its own right, France only grants it the status of an association, which in fact limits its scope. action. According to our information, several applications were still submitted in 2023, to obtain religious status. Without success. “They try everywhere, but they have no luck,” whispers a prefecture agent responsible for these questions.
The fact remains that it is, as it stands, neither totally dead nor prohibited. Which limits recourse. In 2019, the town hall of Saint-Denis tried to oppose the purchase of the site for the new church. Without success, for lack of sufficient reason. Since then, Scientologists have been slowly investing in the surrounding area. “They asked to leave leaflets, then we never saw them again,” says a restaurateur, not far away. People “not bad, but very airy,” he says, screwing his cloth into a cup. Several passers-by are surprised: “Oh, so, Scientology, here, with us?” “We are vigilant,” retorts the Maison des Associations, alerted by the public authorities.
A discreet installation
Some well-informed neighbors get annoyed on social media when they receive leaflets in their mailbox. They post a message when they spot related associations, such as “No to Drugs”, and “Chemin du Bonheur”, structures which campaign against narcotics and for the appeasement of working-class neighborhoods. No logo, nor explicit references, but each time, praises to Ron Hubbard, the founder of the movement, and publications on the official website.
According to a count by L’Express based on Scientology press releases, the majority of the actions of these two collectives now take place in Saint-Denis, or the surrounding area. February 11, 2024: 1,300 booklets distributed in front of businesses. February 4, 1000, downstairs from student accommodation. December 17, 2023, 700, not counting gifts and sweets, given on the edge of a city. July 19. Operation “Message of Peace”, at the RER station, following the riots linked to the death of young Nahel in Nanterre. June 10: Cleaning in the streets. The rest ? In Paris, Marseille or Lyon, for the most part.
Scientology also regularly organizes demonstrations. As in Grenoble, where its followers stood still in July 2023 in front of the French-speaking Congress of Psychiatry and Neurology. Sometimes, the press does not know who it is dealing with, and relays without hindsight. “The group uses an organization distinct from the Church of Scientology but entirely controlled by the latter: the Citizens’ Commission for Human Rights,” specifies the Interministerial Mission to Combat Sectarian Abuses (Miviludes), in his last report. She describes these mobilizations as “destabilization operations”.
The legal battle
In 2023, more than ten hospitals have also been sued by Scientology. If the anonymity of patients is preserved, the law allows certain administrative documents to be obtained upon request. Montreuil, Mayenne, Morlaix, Faye-l’Abbesse, Le Mans… Scientologists are demanding a count of internments. Proof that psychiatry is violent, according to them. Better would be the tests, the precepts of “personal development”, the sauna sessions lasting several hours, the jump vitamin cures proposed by its supporters, to “liberate” oneself. All are paid.
According to state services, it is the entire French administration which is in reality targeted by the trials. Even the press, individuals. Scientology takes legal action as soon as it is described as a “sect”, as soon as it is accused of “control”, or of extorting funds from those who believe in it. With $1 billion in liquidity, according to testimonies from former indoctrinators, its legal funds are virtually unlimited. The building in Saint-Denis, its 700-seat auditorium, study and meeting rooms, all at 33 million euros? A trifle, according to these sources. But a place that she hopes will be strategic for recruiting.
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