FRANCE
From the MILS to the MIVILUDES

No fundamental change in France’s discriminatory policy towards new religious movements.

"France must remain on the list of countries to be kept under scrutiny by the international community on the grounds of its discriminatory religious policy, says Human Rights Without Frontiers Int. in Brussels" Willy Fautré (Director of HRWF)

HRWF Int. – Website http://www.hrwf.net  - The first annual report of the MIVILUDES (Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Fight against Sectarian Deviances) which was released on 26 January 2004 clearly highlights the fact that France’s discriminatory policy towards new religious movements has not fundamentally changed since the abrogation on 28th November 2002 of the decree creating the MILS (Interministerial Mission of Fight against Sects), which was so much discredited, and that only cosmetic changes have been brought to it.

Despite the change of name, laudable efforts to define the concept of "sectarian deviances", less aggressive language and the apparently different objectives of the new state agency, nothing has fundamentally changed in practice. The targets are not sects any more but sectarian deviances of solely new religious movements (NRM): "healing movements, pseudo-evangelical groups, apocalyptic and eastern movements", according to the first annual report of the MIVILUDES.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Scientology, Raelians and groups of psychological well-being are particularly targeted. The new policy of the Ministry of the Interior accommodating Jehovah’s Witnesses’s victories before quite a number of administrative courts is silenced in the MIVILUDES report, probably because the court decisions are considered too favourable to them: most of their congregations have indeed acceded to the status of association cultuelle, the most favourable status enjoyed by associations linked to 'historical' religions.

The system of surveillance of NRM and of denunciation put in place by the MILS has remained unchanged and is fully used by the MIVILUDES. Vigilance committees in 56 departements under the authority of the prefect (Ministry of the Interior), the various services of the Health Ministry, the Ministry of Justice, directors and teachers of public schools, Ministry of Economy and Finances (tax department and customs department), the medical and pharmaceutical association... will go on tracking NRM for their "sectarian deviances". Most of the staff and of the anti-sect actors working under the MILS pursue their activities under the new leadership of the MIVILUDES.

According to the MIVILUDES, there are no sectarian deviances in Islam, a religious movement newer in France that Jehovah’s Witnesses, nor in the Catholic Church or in any other ‘historical’ religion in France. Sexual abuses committed by four Raelians, along with the founder and two members of the group Instinctothérapie, are presented as a sectarian deviance in the report of the MIVILUDES but cases of sexual abuses perpetrated by Catholic priests and believers are not denounced.

There is hardly any information about anti-sect groups such as the UNADFI and CCMM although they are almost totally financed with public money and work very closely with the MIVILUDES. No information on the budget of the MIVILUDES is mentioned in the report and the real cost of the French policy towards NRM is not available either. There is also a total lack of transparency about the information sent to the public by mail, email or on the phone.

Human Rights Without Frontiers Int. recommends to the international community and all the actors involved in the fight for freedom of religion and belief and against religious discrimination and intolerance to keep France’s policy regarding NRM under scrutiny.

FRANCE - MIVILUDES 2004 Report
Preemptive war against "sectarian movements and deviations"

Willy Fautré, Human Rights Without Frontiers int.

HRWF Int. (05.02.2004) - Website: www.hrwf.net  - Email: info@hrwf.net  - Decree in 2002-1392 of November 28, 2002 which abolishes the MILS and replaces it with the MIVILUDES grants this new State institution with the mission "to observe and analyse the phenomenon of movements with a sectarian character" and to fight against sectarian deviations.

To what extent is this provision operational and does it give the MIVILUDES a well-defined and verifiable sphere of activity?

What movements with a sectarian character?

In the section entitled "1 - Analysing the deviations," the MIVILUDES report neither defines nor specifies what must be understood as "movements with a sectarian character". The MIVILUDES admits that it is legally impossible to define a religion, a sect, or a sectarian deviation.

The MIVILUDES is very careful not to take a stand on the parliamentary list of sectarian movements and the question can be raised whether it would be politically correct to question it. Another important fact is that the report silences the fact that the said list has no legal value and recalls that due to the separation of powers, it cannot "unlist" any movement. Are religious and philosophical sectarian movements in the parliamentary list, "movements with a sectarian character", the MIVILUDES should deal with? Although this is a major issue, it does not take any stand but remains in a state of limbo.

A movement practising reproductive cloning and - religious and non-religious ?-"socially controversial groups or movements" apparently fall under its jurisdiction, according to the report.

What sectarian deviations?

The MIVILUDES outlines its sphere of observation and analysis as "actions that violate human rights, fundamental rights, or that represent a threat to public order,"as well as misuse of weakness as defined by the About-Picard law.

The report first describes the method used by administrations involved in the fight against sectarian deviations, a field said to be untouched by any previous research. The dangerosity criteria listed in the report of the parliamentary commission were useful to them all along their groupings but there is no trace of normative contribution by the MIVILUDES in their quest.

Throughout the report, we can notice a small sign of stand by the MIVILUDES in favour of a number of criteria that are "the hard core of the concept of sectarian deviations": mental destabilisation, breaking off with the original environment, misuse of weakness originating from physical or psychological subjugation, indoctrination or confinement of children in desocialising educational principles. Most of these concepts are unfortunately not clarified with operational definitions, although the latter are certainly much demanded by administrations.

The fight upstream beyond offences

The publicizing of offences which have already been committed by some groups is not sufficient for the MIVILUDES mandate to be fully fulfilled. The fight against sectarian movements by nature and against sectarian deviations in other movements must also be carried out upstream. Prevention is by nature good and quite laudable but major reserve is essential if it is a harassment policy or even a preemptive war led against movements that are suspected or accused - without any judgment - of being sectarian. Here, the MIVILUDES does not take any distance with the policy of the late MILS as far as its policy is concerned, even if its methods have become much more discreet and civilized.

Under the cloak - or the mask - of fight against sectarian deviations, the MIVILUDES primarily targets new religious movements, groups of families or individuals united around an alternative life project, associations of psychotherapists as well as movements of psychological well-being and alternative professional training sessions. Last but not least, it eventually takes a very firm stand on one point: it "will report the sectarian movements which occupy the sphere of permanent training to extend their influence and to proselytize actively.". As it is phrased, this determination can only receive unanimous ovation from the authorities.