Church of Scientology receives renewed criticism prior to French headquarters opening near Paris 2024 venues
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The building is more than 7,000 square metres and includes an auditorium, study rooms, and even saunas.
It is located in the commune of Saint-Denis, home to the Stade de France, one of the main venues for Paris 2024.
“We are right next to the Stade de France,” Philippe Caro, a resident, told Euronews.
“Now you have the new Olympic swimming pool here.
“We are in the heart of the future Olympic facilities.”
A petition was launched in 2017 against the Church’s €33 million (£29 million/$35 million) purchase of the building.
The municipality has since tried to stop the work but an appeal court ruled in favour of the organisation.
The Church of Scientology itself was convicted of fraud by a French court in 2009, a decision upheld by the supreme Court of Cassation in 2013.
The country has also previously classified it as a dangerous cult.
“It leaves the town in the grip of an organisation such as this one, with enormous resources compared to a town like Saint-Denis,” Caro continued.
“This poses a danger, a risk for the inhabitants and the neighbourhood in terms of sectarian presence.”
Vice-president of the European office of the Church of Scientology Eric Roux rejected the sectarian label.
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organisations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement.
The Church of Scientology was founded in the United States in 1953 by L. Ron Hubbard, his wife Mary Sue Hubbard, and John Galusha.
It has recruited several Hollywood stars as members, including Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley.
It has several thousands of followers in France where it operates legally under the status of an association.
The new headquarters are expected to open before the Olympic Games, which are scheduled to run from July 26 to August 11.
“There are people from the town hall and the prefecture who have tried to prevent the work from being carried out in ways that were fallacious,” Roux told Euronews.
“I think the best response is the one given by the Court of Appeal, which said that this was a misuse of power.
“Misuse of power by a representative of the state or an elected official is serious.
“Some people are racist, who are intolerant, unfortunately, this is the reality today and we have to deal with it.
“But when the law says what is right, it says what is right.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1133757/church-of-scientology-paris-2024.
Maybe now isn’t the best time for Scientology to announce a new building in France, when its leader David Miscavige is facing alleged Scientology victims in a court battle.
For many people QAnon has become the foundation of their world view and mindset. QAnon is essentially their way of life, frequently trapped in an alternate reality, like many cult members.