It is in the former headquarters of the company Panasonic in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) that the Church of Scientology will very soon install “a training center”. Justice has indeed just given him reason, while the municipality opposed the project.
Via the real estate company Building Investments Group, the organization had bought the building in 2017 to install a “training center”, but the former PCF mayor of the city, Laurent Russier, was opposed to this project by taking a municipal decree in September 2019, referring in particular to safety and accessibility issues for people with disabilities.
“A very strategic location”
“A pretext to prevent the Church of Scientology from settling in this strategic location,” says Georges Fenech, the former president of Miviludes (Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and the Fight against Sectarian Abuses), who explains that the The location chosen, in the Plaine district, is in fact “very visible from the motorway and from the future Olympic Games in 2024”.
Justice finally ruled in favor of the Church of Scientology on appeal, challenging the decision of the former mayor of Saint-Denis (93). The real estate company had already obtained the annulment of this disputed order by the administrative court of Montreuil, in October 2020. A decision confirmed this Friday, December 16 by the administrative court of appeal of Paris.
As a reminder, in France, Scientology has been considered a sectarian movement since 1995, according to several parliamentary reports. “It should be remembered that the Church of Scientology was condemned in 2009 by the Paris Criminal Court for fraud”, abounds Georges Fenech, who underlines that “we however authorize” the organization “to be established”.
The one who was president of Miviludes from 2008 to 2012 continues: “soon, with the Olympic Games, they will have an exceptional showcase”, thanks to “a flamboyant building […] of nearly 7,000 square meters ”. Today led by the mayor PS, Mathieu Hanotin, the city of Saint-Denis (93) to three months to re-examine the work authorization request. “There is something to be moved about”, concludes Georges Fenech.