About-Picard law
Encyclopedia
The 2001 About-Picard law [abu pika:r] (named after French parliament members Nicolas About
and Catherine Picard
), a piece of French
legislation, broadly speaking, makes it possible to act against organisations (legal entities) when such organisations have become involved in certain crimes. The law, in its own words, aimed at movements deemed cultic (mouvements sectaires) that "undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms". The law does not define new crimes, except in association with existing crimes.
This law has caused controversy internationally, with some commentators alleging that it infringes religious freedom. Proponents of the law allege, on the contrary, that it reinforces religious freedom, since it aims at protecting people in a weak position (including children), preventing criminal organizations from forcing such people into religious and other activities. , the French authorities had applied the law only once — in the case of a doomsday cult
leader who had induced his followers to commit suicide.
The full title of the law reads Loi n° 2001-504 du 12 juin 2001 tendant à renforcer la prévention et la répression des mouvements sectaires portant atteinte aux Droits de l'Homme et aux libertés fondamentales ("Law number 2001-504 of June 12, 2001 intended to reinforce the prevention and repression of sectarian (cultic) movements that infringe on human rights
and on fundamental freedoms").
s (faux amis) exist in French and English word definitions, which can confuse discussions of religion and cults:
Freedom of religion
and separation of church and state
have formed part of the French idea of the state since at least the French Revolution
and in some ways long before, since the 16th century period of the Reformation
and of the Wars of Religion
. Separation of religion and state in France takes the form of laïcité
, by which political power avoids interference in the sphere of religious dogma, and religion avoids interference in public policies. The French understand "freedom of religion" primarily as the freedom of the individual to believe or not to believe what any religion teaches. Also, because of a long history of one single dominating church (the Catholic Church), the French state sees its duty less in protecting religion from state interference than in protecting the individual from interference by religion.
With this viewpoint in mind, the French state took a different attitude from that of some other nation-states with regard to the rise of new religious movement
s (NRMs): in light of the various tragedies of destructive cult
s and following complaints from families of adherents of NRMs, it looked for means of protecting the population (and especially vulnerable persons) from abuses by such cults. As early as 1983, deputy to the National Assembly
Alain Vivien
published a report, at the request of then-Prime Minister
Pierre Mauroy
, entitled, "The cults in France: Expression of moral liberty or carriers of manipulations?".
In the wake of the Order of the Solar Temple
murders and suicides, the French Parliament
established the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France to investigate cults. In December 1995 the Commission delivered a report on cults which caused much controversy, some of it due to a list extracted from a report by the French National Police
on purported cults. (The Commission assimilated information and analysis from the French police secret service, the Renseignements généraux
.) To this list forms the basis of many accusations against France regarding restriction of freedom of religion.
Following the recommendations of the report, Prime Minister Alain Juppé
set up in 1996 the "Interministerial board of observation of sects", followed in 1998 by the "Interministerial Mission in the Fight Against Sects" (MILS
). In 2002 the "Interministerial Monitoring Mission Against Sectarian Abuses" (MIVILUDES
) replaced MILS.
Other action of the French government against potential abuses by cults resulted in the passing of the About-Picard law.
as the About-Picard law, from the name of its rapporteur
s (parliamentarians who report upon the draft law), senator
Nicolas About
(UDF center-right party; his report in French) and deputy
Catherine Picard
(PS center-left party; her report in French). It has the full title: Loi no 2001-504 du 12 juin 2001 tendant à renforcer la prévention et la répression des mouvements sectaires portant atteinte aux Droits de l'Homme et aux libertés fondamentales ("Law number 2001-504 of 12 June 2001 intended to reinforce the prevention and repression of sectarian (cultic) groups that infringe on human rights
and on fundamental freedoms").
The French parliament adopted the law with broad cross-party support under the government of center-right president Jacques Chirac
and socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin
.
The law has six chapters:
Specific points about the law which some critics have misunderstood or spoken of in distorted versions include the following:
The initial draft of the About-Picard law included the criminalization of "mental manipulation". Many organizations criticised this clause for its vagueness. Minister of Justice
Élisabeth Guigou
pushed for the removal of this clause, which the legislators excluded from the final version of the law. However, the law makes it a crime to defraud a person weakened by illness, old age, etc., but also of a person in a state of psychological or physical subjection resulting from grave or reiterated pressures or techniques able to alter judgement.
, had announced imminent apocalypse
, resulting in the suicide of one of his followers and the attempted suicides of two others, who were severely wounded in 2001. The criminal court in Nantes sentenced him to three years in prison and 90,000 FF
damages in November 2004. It ruled that he had "abused fraudulently the state of ignorance and weakness of several persons in the state of bodily or mental dependence". A higher court in Rennes confirmed the sentence in July 2005.
The French government, when challenged on issues of religious discrimination, states that it has no concern in any way with religious doctrine per se. The government has taken the position that it will deal with the concrete consequences of cult affiliation, especially with respect to children. The government sees this as particularly important in the light of past abuse committed in some criminal cults, such as sexual slavery
and mass suicide
. According to government sources, none of the criteria listed in related government documents on sects discuss theology
; they only focus on the actions and the methods of the groups.
Critics of the law see this as merely a semantic change and maintain that no empirical studies support claims of the use of techniques of coercive persuasion by NRMs.
Some groups claim that the Parliamentary Reports and the controversy surrounding the About-Picard law have created an unhealthy atmosphere, resulting in minority religious groups suffering from excessively strict, uneven, or even abusive discrimination in the application of other laws by local authorities.For example, the group Coordination des Associations et Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (Co-ordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience), founded in January 2002, requested, the repeal of any discriminatory law containing the word "cult," "sect," "cultic," or "sectarian" as laws should not specify groups as "sectarian" or "cultic" as, in a democracy, all individuals and groups should be treated equally and in the same manner. However, an OSCE
report has described this group as a partisan organisation whose "allegations are essentially anonymous and thus of uncertain provenance and reliability."
The umbrella association of French Jehovah's Witnesses
sued the French government in the ECHR
in case #53430/99, alleging that the publication of the parliamentary reports and the enactment of the About-Picard law infringed its civil rights. The court rejected the application.
In other cases (#53934/00...), the Court affirmed that the publication of a Parliamentary Report disparaging to some groups did not constitute an infringement of human rights, even though these groups were not given a legal recourse
for the removal of their name from the report.
It should be noted that the small Adventist movement has chosen to be incorporated in the French Protestant Federation.
's Parliamentary Assembly. This petition led to a report (Report 9612 of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of Europe) containing an expert paper by Swiss professor Joseph Voyame, who concluded:
Voyame deduces that the law clearly responds to a need, that the measure of dissolution appears radical, but also effective and reliable, and that judicial guarantees surround it. He also discusses the title with its mentioning of "cultic groups", but comes to the conclusion that the uncertainty regarding the definition has little importance:
The report discussed several objections regarding the word "secte" (cult):
The report concluded:
In November 2002, the Council of Europe passed a resolution inviting the Government of France to reconsider the About-Picard Law and to clarify certain terms in the law. It referred, however, to the Recommendation 1412 (1999) on the illegal activities of sects, where it had concluded that it was "essential to ensure that the activities of groups, whatever religious, esoteric or spiritual description they adopted, were in keeping with the principles of democratic societies and, in particular, the provisions of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)." and it stated that "ultimately, should the case arise, it will be for the European Court of Human Rights
, and it alone, to say whether or not this law is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights." .
, Executive Director of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
(IHFHR), wrote:
Alain Vivien responded: "[The IHFHR] seems today to have passed into the hands of Scientologists
and perhaps other transnational organizations". Aaron Rhodes
then acknowledged that the Moscow office of the IHFHR had received funding from the Church of Scientology
to print a leaflet about religious freedom in Russia, and voiced his astonishment at the charge. Rhodes voiced his embarrassment: "[...]for you and your fellow French citizens by your recourse to methods of denunciations and insinuations that remind us of those sometimes used by totalitarian and backward regimes."
utilised pressure groups against the French government, and had some success with the Clinton
administration, which repeatedly brought the matter before the French government.
According to pastor Jean-Arnold de Clermont
, head of the French Protestant federation and himself a strong critic of the first draft of the law, the complaints originating in the United States concerning religious freedom in France were largely based on biased, poor information.
According to a newspaper article published in The Guardian
in June 2000, the French government considered American interference regarding religious freedom in France as unwarranted meddling by the US government in France's internal affairs. Paul Webster wrote that President Jacques Chirac
told Clinton that religious freedom would no longer be a subject for bilateral presidential talks, "in the light of what has been officially described as 'shocking' White House support for Scientologists
and Moonies
". The French government also described the United States Congress
's introduction of laws protecting religious freedom internationally as "an unacceptable intrusion into internal affairs". Alain Vivien
, former chairman of the French ministerial mission to combat the influence of cults (MILS), and the president of the Centre Contre les Manipulations Mentales (Centre Against Mental Manipulation), said many observers believed that Clinton was making his peace with big religious movements, "because they offer an indispensable source of political financing
", and that with the help of Scientologists, cults were infiltrating UN and European human rights associations and collaborating on virulent reports against France's policies.
The French did not alter their law following these requests; and the claims and actions of the US government regarding the religious situation in France largely ceased with the Bush
administration.
Some critics of French legislation have voiced concerns that countries which do not have the same legal safeguards and constitutional rights as France may emulate this legislation. In the words of a US official:
On 15 September 2006 the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
released a report on religious freedom in France. This report noted that "The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice." It reported mostly anonymous concerns over repression of religious freedom in France, notably in regards to what the report referred to in one case as "cult groups", as well as the law banning religious symbols in schools, and rising anti-semitism in France.
Nicolas About
Nicolas About is a French politician from the centrist MoDem. he is a member of the French Senate and President of the Centrist Union group. About was the mayor of Montigny-le-Bretonneux from 1977 to 2004. He was elected senator of Yvelines on September 24, 1995, and reelected on September 26,...
and Catherine Picard
Catherine Picard
Catherine Picard is a French politician from the French Socialist Party. She was earlier a member of the French National Assembly.-Career:...
), a piece of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
legislation, broadly speaking, makes it possible to act against organisations (legal entities) when such organisations have become involved in certain crimes. The law, in its own words, aimed at movements deemed cultic (mouvements sectaires) that "undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms". The law does not define new crimes, except in association with existing crimes.
This law has caused controversy internationally, with some commentators alleging that it infringes religious freedom. Proponents of the law allege, on the contrary, that it reinforces religious freedom, since it aims at protecting people in a weak position (including children), preventing criminal organizations from forcing such people into religious and other activities. , the French authorities had applied the law only once — in the case of a doomsday cult
Doomsday cult
Doomsday cult is an expression used to describe groups who believe in Apocalypticism and Millenarianism, and can refer both to groups that prophesy catastrophe and destruction, and to those that attempt to bring it about...
leader who had induced his followers to commit suicide.
The full title of the law reads Loi n° 2001-504 du 12 juin 2001 tendant à renforcer la prévention et la répression des mouvements sectaires portant atteinte aux Droits de l'Homme et aux libertés fondamentales ("Law number 2001-504 of June 12, 2001 intended to reinforce the prevention and repression of sectarian (cultic) movements that infringe on human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and on fundamental freedoms").
Vocabulary
Several misleading false cognateFalse cognate
False cognates are pairs of words in the same or different languages that are similar in form and meaning but have different roots. That is, they appear to be, or are sometimes considered, cognates, when in fact they are not....
s (faux amis) exist in French and English word definitions, which can confuse discussions of religion and cults:
- The French noun culte means any "(religious) worship", or, in a legal context, "religion" taken in a broad sense. The phrase association cultuelle (quite distinct from association culturelle, association promoting culture) thus refers to an organisation that supports religious worship, not to a "cult" in the often derogatory sense found in the English language.
- The French noun secte can have the meaning of the English "sectSectA sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
". However, in general parlance it has the derogatory meaning of the English usage of the word "cult". - The adjective sectaire ("sectarian") almost always has a derogatory meaning: it designates people or institutions with a narrow-minded outlook on the world, who exclude other points of view.
Government and religion in France
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
and separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
have formed part of the French idea of the state since at least the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and in some ways long before, since the 16th century period of the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and of the Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
. Separation of religion and state in France takes the form of laïcité
Laïcité
French secularism, in French, laïcité is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of...
, by which political power avoids interference in the sphere of religious dogma, and religion avoids interference in public policies. The French understand "freedom of religion" primarily as the freedom of the individual to believe or not to believe what any religion teaches. Also, because of a long history of one single dominating church (the Catholic Church), the French state sees its duty less in protecting religion from state interference than in protecting the individual from interference by religion.
With this viewpoint in mind, the French state took a different attitude from that of some other nation-states with regard to the rise of new religious movement
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
s (NRMs): in light of the various tragedies of destructive cult
Destructive cult
A destructive cult is a religion or other group which has caused or has a high probability of causing harm to its own members or to others. Some researchers define "harm" in this case with a narrow focus, specifically groups which have deliberately physically injured or killed other individuals,...
s and following complaints from families of adherents of NRMs, it looked for means of protecting the population (and especially vulnerable persons) from abuses by such cults. As early as 1983, deputy to the National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
Alain Vivien
Alain Vivien
Alain Vivien is a French Socialist Party politician, best known for chairing the French Mission Interministérielle pour la Lutte contre les Sectes, MILS, a ministerial organism designed to observe the activities of various religious organizations defined as "Sectes" .-Early career:He was mayor of...
published a report, at the request of then-Prime Minister
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy is a French Socialist politician and former Prime Minister under François Mitterrand . Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy is currently emeritus mayor of Lille.-Biography:...
, entitled, "The cults in France: Expression of moral liberty or carriers of manipulations?".
In the wake of the Order of the Solar Temple
Order of the Solar Temple
The Order of the Solar Temple also known as Ordre du Temple Solaire in French, and the International Chivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition or simply as The Solar Temple was a secret society based upon the modern myth of the continuing existence of the Knights Templar...
murders and suicides, the French Parliament
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
established the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France to investigate cults. In December 1995 the Commission delivered a report on cults which caused much controversy, some of it due to a list extracted from a report by the French National Police
French National Police
The National Police , formerly the Sûreté Nationale, is one of two national police forces and the main civil law enforcement agency of France, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. The other main agency is the military Gendarmerie, with primary jurisdiction in smaller towns and rural...
on purported cults. (The Commission assimilated information and analysis from the French police secret service, the Renseignements généraux
Direction centrale des renseignements généraux
The Direction Centrale des Renseignements Généraux , often called Renseignements Généraux , was the intelligence service of the French police, answerable to the Direction Générale de la Police Nationale , and, ultimately, the Ministry of the Interior...
.) To this list forms the basis of many accusations against France regarding restriction of freedom of religion.
Following the recommendations of the report, Prime Minister Alain Juppé
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé is a French politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also served as Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac and the Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs from 2010 to 2011...
set up in 1996 the "Interministerial board of observation of sects", followed in 1998 by the "Interministerial Mission in the Fight Against Sects" (MILS
MILS
MILS may refer to:* Multiple Independent Levels of Security, a high-assurance computer security architectural concept or "Interministerial Mission in the Fight Against Cults", a French government agency...
). In 2002 the "Interministerial Monitoring Mission Against Sectarian Abuses" (MIVILUDES
MIVILUDES
MIVILUDES , a French government agency, has the task of:* observing and analyzing movements perceived as constituting a threat to public order or that violate French law*...
) replaced MILS.
Other action of the French government against potential abuses by cults resulted in the passing of the About-Picard law.
The About-Picard law
Commentators often refer to the Law 2001-504 of June 12, 2001 (approximate translation into English)as the About-Picard law, from the name of its rapporteur
Rapporteur
Rapporteur is used in international and European legal and political contexts to refer to a person appointed by a deliberative body to investigate an issue or a situation....
s (parliamentarians who report upon the draft law), senator
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
Nicolas About
Nicolas About
Nicolas About is a French politician from the centrist MoDem. he is a member of the French Senate and President of the Centrist Union group. About was the mayor of Montigny-le-Bretonneux from 1977 to 2004. He was elected senator of Yvelines on September 24, 1995, and reelected on September 26,...
(UDF center-right party; his report in French) and deputy
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
Catherine Picard
Catherine Picard
Catherine Picard is a French politician from the French Socialist Party. She was earlier a member of the French National Assembly.-Career:...
(PS center-left party; her report in French). It has the full title: Loi no 2001-504 du 12 juin 2001 tendant à renforcer la prévention et la répression des mouvements sectaires portant atteinte aux Droits de l'Homme et aux libertés fondamentales ("Law number 2001-504 of 12 June 2001 intended to reinforce the prevention and repression of sectarian (cultic) groups that infringe on human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and on fundamental freedoms").
The French parliament adopted the law with broad cross-party support under the government of center-right president Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
and socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...
.
Main points
Notable new points introduced by the law include:- In the case of certain crimes, the law extends legal responsibility from individuals to organizations (corporations, associations, and other legal entities...).
- Courts can order the dissolution of organizations if they or their executives have been found guilty of these crimes.
The law has six chapters:
- Chapter 1 says that a court can order the dissolution of organizations when they or their leaders have received sentences for specific crimes. These crimes include endangering the life or physical or mental health of a person, illegal practice of medicine, and fraud or falsification in violation of consumer-protection laws, among others.
- Chapter 2 extends the responsibility for specific criminal offenses to organizations.
- Chapter 3 specifies that a court may only order the dissolution if the sentence pronounced for the crime is at least 3 years in prison or a fine of 300,000 FFFrench francThe franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
(now 45000 €EuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
). - Chapter 4 specifies that organizations that have had legal action taken against them or whose executives have been sentenced several times for the specified offenses, are forbidden to deal with young people and can be fined if they do.
- Chapter 5 defines fraudulent abuse of a state of ignorance or weakness and gives supplementary punishments for organizations that engage in this sort of activity.
- Chapter 6 specifies necessary modifications of the penal law.
Specific points about the law which some critics have misunderstood or spoken of in distorted versions include the following:
- The About-Picard law does not mention religion, it does not define what a sect or cult is, and it does not mention any particular group.
- The About-Picard law makes it possible to prosecute an organization (legally-organized entity) for some specifically listed crimes, which previously would only have resulted in the prosecution of the organization's management. (This parallels existing law in other jurisdictions.)
- Existing law already specified criminal punishments for all the crimes listed in the law (illegal practice of medicine or pharmacy, substantially duping consumers, selling altered products, rape, sexual aggressions, murder, poisoning, torture or barbaric acts, violence, harassment, provocation to suicide, blocking rescue operations, defrauding a person in a state of ignorance or weakness, profanation of tombs, failing to provide suitable education to children) in the case of individuals; the About-Picard law extends these concepts to make it possible to punish the organizations themselves.
- The About-Picard law makes it possible for a court to order the dissolution of an organization that exploits the psychological or physical control it has over people when the organization or its de factoDe factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
or de jureDe jureDe jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
executives have been convicted of certain severe crimes committed within their duties. For all cases of dissolution the crimes involved have to carry minimal penalties indicating that a serious crime has been committed (e.g. three years in prison). This means that organizations face no threat of dissolution in cases where more minor offenses have been committed. Furthermore, dissolution does not occur automatically, nor is it pronounced by the executive; as with any criminal matters in France, it is up to the court to appreciate the situation and judge whether it serves society's interest to dissolve the organization. - Nonprofit associations assisting victims or defending personal or public freedoms, and declared of public usefulness, may exercise victims' rights in such criminal trials. The restriction to associations declared of public usefulness ensures that only reputable and accountable organizations can exercise these rights.
The initial draft of the About-Picard law included the criminalization of "mental manipulation". Many organizations criticised this clause for its vagueness. Minister of Justice
Minister of Justice (France)
The Ministry of Justice is controlled by the French Minister of Justice , a top-level cabinet position in the French government. The current Minister of Justice is Michel Mercier...
Élisabeth Guigou
Élisabeth Guigou
Élisabeth Guigou is a French Socialist politician.-Biography:After attending ENA, France's elite graduate school of public affairs, she worked on Jacques Delors' staff in 1982 before being hired by Hubert Védrine in François Mitterrand's...
pushed for the removal of this clause, which the legislators excluded from the final version of the law. However, the law makes it a crime to defraud a person weakened by illness, old age, etc., but also of a person in a state of psychological or physical subjection resulting from grave or reiterated pressures or techniques able to alter judgement.
Application of the law
The was one famous application of the law since its adoption: that of Arnaud Mussy, leader of the tiny Néo-Phare (New Lighthouse) cult. Mussy, who claims that he is the ChristChrist
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, had announced imminent apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
, resulting in the suicide of one of his followers and the attempted suicides of two others, who were severely wounded in 2001. The criminal court in Nantes sentenced him to three years in prison and 90,000 FF
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
damages in November 2004. It ruled that he had "abused fraudulently the state of ignorance and weakness of several persons in the state of bodily or mental dependence". A higher court in Rennes confirmed the sentence in July 2005.
Reactions
- See Status of religious freedom in FranceStatus of religious freedom in FranceFreedom of religion in France is guaranteed by the constitutional rights set forth in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen....
for expressed concerns about other aspects of French policies with respect to minority religions.
The French government, when challenged on issues of religious discrimination, states that it has no concern in any way with religious doctrine per se. The government has taken the position that it will deal with the concrete consequences of cult affiliation, especially with respect to children. The government sees this as particularly important in the light of past abuse committed in some criminal cults, such as sexual slavery
Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
and mass suicide
Mass suicide
- Examples :Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious or cultic settings. Defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Suicide pacts are a form of mass suicide unconnected to cults or war that are sometimes planned or carried out by small groups of frustrated people...
. According to government sources, none of the criteria listed in related government documents on sects discuss theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
; they only focus on the actions and the methods of the groups.
Critics of the law see this as merely a semantic change and maintain that no empirical studies support claims of the use of techniques of coercive persuasion by NRMs.
Reactions inside France
The Bishop of Soissons, Marcel Herriot, made a statement on 25 June 2000 saying among other things:
It is really necessary to protect by law persons, family, society and religions themselves. Too many cults (sectes) are factually violating unpunished fundamental freedoms and human dignity. The Catholic Church doesn't have to fear this law which wants in no case to bring damage to religions and beliefs.
Some groups claim that the Parliamentary Reports and the controversy surrounding the About-Picard law have created an unhealthy atmosphere, resulting in minority religious groups suffering from excessively strict, uneven, or even abusive discrimination in the application of other laws by local authorities.For example, the group Coordination des Associations et Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (Co-ordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience), founded in January 2002, requested, the repeal of any discriminatory law containing the word "cult," "sect," "cultic," or "sectarian" as laws should not specify groups as "sectarian" or "cultic" as, in a democracy, all individuals and groups should be treated equally and in the same manner. However, an OSCE
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
report has described this group as a partisan organisation whose "allegations are essentially anonymous and thus of uncertain provenance and reliability."
The umbrella association of French Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
sued the French government in the ECHR
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
in case #53430/99, alleging that the publication of the parliamentary reports and the enactment of the About-Picard law infringed its civil rights. The court rejected the application.
In other cases (#53934/00...), the Court affirmed that the publication of a Parliamentary Report disparaging to some groups did not constitute an infringement of human rights, even though these groups were not given a legal recourse
Legal recourse
A legal recourse is an action that can be taken by an individual or a corporation to attempt to remedy a legal difficulty.* A lawsuit if the issue is a matter of civil law* Many contracts require mediation or arbitration before a dispute can go to court...
for the removal of their name from the report.
It should be noted that the small Adventist movement has chosen to be incorporated in the French Protestant Federation.
Statements by the Council of Europe
Forty different religious and human-rights groups submitted a petition to the Council of EuropeCouncil of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
's Parliamentary Assembly. This petition led to a report (Report 9612 of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of Europe) containing an expert paper by Swiss professor Joseph Voyame, who concluded:
- "On the basis of the foregoing, I conclude that the French Law of 12 June 2001 is not incompatible with the Council of Europe’s values."
Voyame deduces that the law clearly responds to a need, that the measure of dissolution appears radical, but also effective and reliable, and that judicial guarantees surround it. He also discusses the title with its mentioning of "cultic groups", but comes to the conclusion that the uncertainty regarding the definition has little importance:
The title is undeniably part of the [Act], but has no legislative authority in itself. Although it may be useful for the purposes of interpretation, it cannot be used in making a ruling that runs counter to a clear legal provision [...] As we will see, [Sections] 1, 19 and 20 of this [Act] identify the targeted incorporated organizations and groups with the greatest possible precision. It is these standard-setting texts that are decisive.
The report discussed several objections regarding the word "secte" (cult):
... the word ‘sect’ has taken on an extremely pejorative connotation. In the eyes of the public, it stigmatises movements whose activities are dangerous either for their members or for society. Today, the world contains dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of groups both large and small, all with various beliefs and observances, which are not necessarily dangerous or prejudicial to freedom. It is true that among these groups are some which have committed criminal acts. Nevertheless, the existence of a few dangerous movements is not enough to condemn all the rest (...)
The report concluded:
The act for the most part simply reiterates existing provisions in the Criminal Code, the Code of Consumption, the Code of Public Health and the New Code of Civil Procedure and does so for a precise purpose in conformity with the European Convention on Human Rights, as we have just seen. Consequently, even if it had been possible to achieve the same objective by recourse to existing provisions, there is nothing to prevent the passing of an act which has the advantage of grouping together all the provisions necessary to achieve that objective.
In November 2002, the Council of Europe passed a resolution inviting the Government of France to reconsider the About-Picard Law and to clarify certain terms in the law. It referred, however, to the Recommendation 1412 (1999) on the illegal activities of sects, where it had concluded that it was "essential to ensure that the activities of groups, whatever religious, esoteric or spiritual description they adopted, were in keeping with the principles of democratic societies and, in particular, the provisions of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)." and it stated that "ultimately, should the case arise, it will be for the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, and it alone, to say whether or not this law is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights." .
Reactions of foreign non-governmental organizations
In an open letter dated June 2000 to Alain Vivien about religious freedom in France, Aaron RhodesAaron Rhodes
Aaron Rhodes is an international human rights activist, university lecturer and essayist based in Hamburg, Germany. He served as Executive Director of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights between 1993 and 2007, during which period the IHF was engaged inter alia in human rights...
, Executive Director of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights was a self-governing group of non-governmental, not-for-profit organizations that act to protect human rights throughout Europe, North America and Central Asia...
(IHFHR), wrote:
We question ourselves how such a law can claim to guarantee human rights when it goes against the rights of association, expression, religion and conscience; when it puts in danger the right of minorities and maintains prejudices that are so incompatible with the concept of tolerance intrinsic to that of human rights. France must deal with its responsibilities and obligations as a signatory for the International Conventions and respect the European laws and its interpretation by the Court of Strasbourg, before one of its citizens become a victim of discrimination due to the law which you propose.
Alain Vivien responded: "[The IHFHR] seems today to have passed into the hands of Scientologists
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
and perhaps other transnational organizations". Aaron Rhodes
Aaron Rhodes
Aaron Rhodes is an international human rights activist, university lecturer and essayist based in Hamburg, Germany. He served as Executive Director of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights between 1993 and 2007, during which period the IHF was engaged inter alia in human rights...
then acknowledged that the Moscow office of the IHFHR had received funding from the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
to print a leaflet about religious freedom in Russia, and voiced his astonishment at the charge. Rhodes voiced his embarrassment: "[...]for you and your fellow French citizens by your recourse to methods of denunciations and insinuations that remind us of those sometimes used by totalitarian and backward regimes."
Reaction of the government of the United States of America
Some groups sought the help of their governments to fight what they saw as religious intolerance in France. In the United States, the Church of ScientologyChurch of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
utilised pressure groups against the French government, and had some success with the Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
administration, which repeatedly brought the matter before the French government.
According to pastor Jean-Arnold de Clermont
Jean-Arnold de Clermont
Jean-Arnold de Clermont is a minister in the French Reformed Church. He has been president of the Protestant Federation of France since July 1, 1999.-External links:*...
, head of the French Protestant federation and himself a strong critic of the first draft of the law, the complaints originating in the United States concerning religious freedom in France were largely based on biased, poor information.
According to a newspaper article published in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
in June 2000, the French government considered American interference regarding religious freedom in France as unwarranted meddling by the US government in France's internal affairs. Paul Webster wrote that President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
told Clinton that religious freedom would no longer be a subject for bilateral presidential talks, "in the light of what has been officially described as 'shocking' White House support for Scientologists
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
and Moonies
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
". The French government also described the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
's introduction of laws protecting religious freedom internationally as "an unacceptable intrusion into internal affairs". Alain Vivien
Alain Vivien
Alain Vivien is a French Socialist Party politician, best known for chairing the French Mission Interministérielle pour la Lutte contre les Sectes, MILS, a ministerial organism designed to observe the activities of various religious organizations defined as "Sectes" .-Early career:He was mayor of...
, former chairman of the French ministerial mission to combat the influence of cults (MILS), and the president of the Centre Contre les Manipulations Mentales (Centre Against Mental Manipulation), said many observers believed that Clinton was making his peace with big religious movements, "because they offer an indispensable source of political financing
Campaign finance
Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
", and that with the help of Scientologists, cults were infiltrating UN and European human rights associations and collaborating on virulent reports against France's policies.
The French did not alter their law following these requests; and the claims and actions of the US government regarding the religious situation in France largely ceased with the Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration.
Some critics of French legislation have voiced concerns that countries which do not have the same legal safeguards and constitutional rights as France may emulate this legislation. In the words of a US official:
Yet the law itself remains problematic not only because of the threat the language carries in France, but because it is even now being considered for emulation by countries that lack France’s commitment to rule of lawRule of lawThe rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
and human rights. Such a model serves only too well as cover for those nations who persecute under the guise of law enforcement.
On 15 September 2006 the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs at the United States Department of State is one of three bureaus and two offices that constitute the Office of the Under Secretary for Global Affairs...
released a report on religious freedom in France. This report noted that "The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice." It reported mostly anonymous concerns over repression of religious freedom in France, notably in regards to what the report referred to in one case as "cult groups", as well as the law banning religious symbols in schools, and rising anti-semitism in France.
See also
- Cults and governments
- Parliamentary Commission about Cults in France (1995)
- Opposition to cults and new religious movements
- MIVILUDESMIVILUDESMIVILUDES , a French government agency, has the task of:* observing and analyzing movements perceived as constituting a threat to public order or that violate French law*...
Official French government publications
- French Parliamentary Commission of investigation of Cults activitiesFrench Parliamentary Commission of investigation of Cults activitiesThe French National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of France, set up a Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France on 11 July 1995 following the events involving the members of the Order of the Solar Temple in late 1994 in the French region of Vercors, in Switzerland and in Canada...
(1995) - Jean-Louis Langlais (MIVILUDES), Les dérives sectaires, année 2004 : rapport au Premier ministre, 2005, page, PDF, RTF
- Jean-Louis Langlais (MIVILUDES), Les dérives sectaires, année 2003 : rapport au Premier ministre, 2004, page, PDF
- Mission interministérielle de lutte contre les sectes : rapport 2001, 2002, page, PDF, RTF
- Jacques Guyard, Jean-Pierre BrardJean-Pierre BrardJean-Pierre Brard, , is a French politician.-Biography:Initially a teacher, he entered politics and was elected was deputy mayor of Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis a post he held until 1984, when he was elected mayor of the same city. He remained mayor until March 2008. He has also been a deputy to...
, Rapport fait au nom de la Commission d'enquête sur la situation financière, patrimoniale et fiscale des sectes, ainsi que sur leurs activités économiques et leurs relations avec les milieux économiques et financiers, French National AssemblyFrench National AssemblyThe French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
, page - Conseil d'État, Rapport public 2004. Jurisprudence et avis de 2003. Un siècle de laïcité, PDF, ISBN 2-11-005595-2
Opinions
- Baker, EileenEileen BarkerEileen Vartan Barker OBE, born in Edinburgh, UK, is a professor in sociology, an emeritus member of the London School of Economics , and a consultant to that institution's Centre for the Study of Human Rights...
, Religious Movements: Cult and Anticult Since Jonestown, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 12: pp. 329–346, 1986 - Introvigne, MassimoMassimo IntrovigneMassimo Introvigne is an Italian sociologist and intellectual property consultant. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions , an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of tens of books and articles in...
and Richardson, James T., "Western Europe, Postmodernity, and the Shadow of the French Revolution: A Response to Soper and Robbins", Symposium on Government Policy Toward Unconventional Religions in Europe, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 40 I.2 p. 181, June 2001 - Introvigne, Massimo. & Richardson, James T., "Brainwashing" Theories in European Parliamentary and Administrative Reports on "Cults" and "Sects, Symposium on Government Policy Toward Unconventional Religions in Europe, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 40 I.2 p. 43, June 2001
- Palmer, Susan J. The secte Response to Religious Discrimination: Subversives, Martyrs, or Freedom Fighters in the French Sect Wars?, article published in the book edited by Phillip Charles Lucas and Thomas Robbins: New Religious Movements in the 21st Century published by Routledge (2004) ISBN 0-415-96577-2
- Wybraniec, John & Finke Roger, Religious Regulation and the Courts: The Judiciary's Changing Role in Protecting Minority Religions from Majoritarian Rule, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol.40 I.3 p. 427, September 2001
- Bruno Fouchereau: Secular society at stake. Europe resists American cults (Monde diplomatique, June 2001)
- Marci Hamilton: Why the U.S.'s International Religious Freedom Commission Is Harming Its Status In the World Community
- Dominique Decherf: French Views of Religious Freedom
- Stephen A. Kent: The French and German versus American Debate Over New Religions, Scientology, and Human Rights
- Robert Jacques: Religious liberty and French secularism
- Marci Hamilton: Why the U.S.'s International Religious Freedom Commission Is Harming Its Status In the World Community
Official French legal texts
All texts in French.- Law 2001-504 of June 12, 2001 (unofficial translation into English)
- Law of 1901 relative to associations (updated version)
- Law of 1905 regarding the separation of church and state (updated version)
- Penal code (legislation part; updated version)
Official French government sites and reports
All texts in French.- MIVILUDES
- Vivien Report 1983
- Gent-Guyard Report 1995 (French) unofficial translation
- Guyard Report 1999, Cults and money
- The 2003 report of the French Mission on Cultic Deviances MIVILUDES unofficial translation
Council of Europe
- Council of Europe: Resolution 1309 (2002) Freedom of religion and religious minorities in France
- Council of Europe: Recommendation 1412 (1999) Illegal activities of sects
- Doc. 9612 Freedom of religion and religious minorities in France
Critique
- Chronological account of the Anti-Cult law in France. Documents, reports, etc. In Italian, French and English, by CESNURCESNURCESNUR , is an organization based in Turin, Italy. It was established in 1988 by a group of religious scholars from universities in Europe and the Americas, working in the field of new religious movements. Its director is the Italian sociologist and attorney Massimo Introvigne...
- France and Religious Intolerance Index of documents at the International Helsinki Federation for Human RightsInternational Helsinki Federation for Human RightsThe International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights was a self-governing group of non-governmental, not-for-profit organizations that act to protect human rights throughout Europe, North America and Central Asia...
- Discussion of MIVILUDES (bulletin of the French Protestant Federation)
- Discussion of the About-Picard law (bulletin of the French Protestant Federation)
- Discussion of the About-Picard law (French League of Human Rights)
- Report On Discrimination Against Spiritual And Therapeutical Minorities In France, by the Coordination des Associations & Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience
- French Legislature Passes Law Suppressing Religions by Joava Good, President of the International Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance.
- Church Of Scientology Humans Rights office in France
- Administrative Barriers Obstruct Evangelical Growth in France Christian Today, February 9, 2005
- "Under Suspicion: Faith in France" by George Thomas "CBN News," July 25, 2003 (contains criticism of nonexistent sections of the law)
- Council of Europe Objects to French Anti-Cult Law., Full Text of the Resolution of November 18, 2002 and of the Corresponding Report
- "No sects, please - we're French" by Prof. Susan Palmer (Dawson College and Concordia UniversityConcordia UniversityConcordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
) (contains criticism of nonexistent dispositions of the law)
- The "Viviengate" — a criticism of Alain Vivien's action (in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
)