France: Scientologists to be investigated for workplace harassment

[mnql1]

Translation of a French article posted on July 23, 2014 on the 20minutes.fr website:
L’Eglise de scientologie visée par une enquête préliminaire pour «harcèlement moral» et «abus de faiblesse»

Church of Scientology object of a preliminary investigation for "psychological harassment" and "abuse of weakness"

by Vincent Vantighem
20minutes.fr
July 23, 2014

According to our information, the public prosecutor's office in Versailles [capital of France's Yvelines department] launched a preliminary investigation at the beginning of June concerning the Spiritual Association of the Church of Scientology (Celebrity Centre) and several of its members for alleged acts of "psychological harassment" and "abuse of weakness." The investigation was spurred by a complaint filed on June 3 by twelve employees of Arcadia, a company that is based in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône and specializes in conversions of attic space and extensions of houses.

The employees assert that they were subjected to "psychological harassment" during training provided by consultants who, the employees say, are members of the Church of Scientology. "Scientology infiltrated the company for the chief purpose of plundering its resources," says Olivier Morice, the lawyer who is defending the employees.

The Versailles public prosecutor's office confirmed that it "assigned the preliminary investigation to the Assistance and Intervention Unit for Sectarian Abuses" [CAIMADES, a police unit specializing in cult-related cases], which operates under the Central Office for the Repression of Violence against Persons (OCRVP).

The alleged abuses started at the beginning of 2013. "We knew that the president of the company was a Scientologist," says Stéphane, one of the employees (the names have been changed in this article). "He talked all the time about L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. But things really degenerated when he brought in his buddies ..." Consultants were called in to "improve the company's performance" and to provide training to the employees.

"At first, it was for an hour and a half every week. Then it expanded to half a day. Then an entire day," says Julie, another employee. A few weeks later, the trainers stopped hiding the Scientology books from which they took the exercises that were supposed to improve communication between us."

Among these exercises, the ones Julie remembers most are the "Training Routines" that the Church of Scientology frequently uses. "The first one involves staying still for two hours without moving or saying anything while facing another employee," she explains. "Later, we had to read passages from Alice in Wonderland. Then we had to repeat the question 'Do fish swim?' and the answer was: 'Yes, birds fly.'"

Julie, a 27-year-old sales representative, complains that she cracked during so-called "bullbaiting" exercises. "For that one, you had to allow yourself to be insulted for hours without reacting. I couldn't do it, so the trainer demonstrated it to me by violently telling a colleague to give him a blowjob!"

"If we didn't comply with their orders, we were immediately placed on a blacklist," adds Stéphane. "They made life impossible to drive us to leave the company." The 33-page complaint is very detailed and states that, in a year and a half, 25 of the 90 employees dropped out of the company by resignation, dismissal, or contractual termination.

"In addition to the controlling the minds of the employees, the main goal of the Church of Scientology was to rake in money," says lawyer Olivier Morice. For example, Cyrille Pincanon, who was hired as a consultant for the technical teams, was paid 437,531 euros through his company, CYP Conseil, for "improving the quality of construction sites."

Though he is named in the complaint, he denied any proselytizing when 20 Minutes contacted him. "Yes, I carried out a mission that went very well. On my scale of 0 to 110%, I obtained a satisfaction rate of 103%. I can show all the evidence of my work, all the documents ... " But when asked about his alleged membership in the Church of Scientology and its methods, he bristled: "My methods are my business and mine alone. As for the Church of Scientology, I have nothing to say to you about that!"

The spokesperson for the Celebrity Centre, Eric Roux insists that he has never heard of Arcadia, but he admits that the names of the persons who are the object of the employees' complaint "ring a bell." "I have no information about this case," he says. "But at first glance, by intuition, it sounds baseless to me ... "

Presumed innocent, the representatives of the Church of Scientology could be summoned by the CAIMADES unit in September.

20 Minutes attempted to contact the president of Arcadia, but he was not immediately available.

 

[dchoiceisalwaysrs]

bravo! Liberte from enslavement. Vive la France.

 

[mnql1]

Translation of a French article posted on July 24, 2014 on the website of the daily newspaper La Croix:
L’Église de Scientologie visée par une nouvelle enquête

Church of Scientology subject of a new investigation

by Marie Boeton
July 24, 2014

Twelve employees of an Yvelines-based company that specializes in interior design have filed a complaint with the Versailles public prosecutor's office stating that they were forced to take training courses provided by supposed members of Scientology, an organization the employees say has been "omnipresent" in their company for several years.

"The Scientology trainers infiltrated the company for the sole aim of plundering it financially, for their personal profit and that of Scientology," asserts their lawyer, Olivier Morice. In all, he says, between one and two million euros have been siphoned off. The investigation has been turned over to the Assistance and Intervention Unit for Sectarian Abuses, which operates under the Central Office for the Repression of Violence against Persons.

The targets of the complaint are the Spiritual Association of the Church of Scientology (Celebrity Centre), several trainers, as well as the president of the company. The employees say that it was the brutal death of one of the president's children in 2000 that caused him to turn to Scientology. He then reorganized his company and was advised by trainers who belong to the organization.

Employees had to take "basic training" that consisted of exercises such as "sitting face to face with another person without moving for two hours," says one of the employees. In the complaint, other employees state that they had to read passages from "Alice in Wonderland" and "repeat them with intention." They also had to repeat: "fish swim and birds fly." Lawyer Olivier Morice considers that "these exercises were not imposed to help the employees work better, but to subjugate them and make them subservient."

In October 2013, the Court of Cassation upheld the "organized fraud" conviction of two Parisian Scientology entities, the Celebrity Centre and its SEL bookstore, which were fined, respectively, 200,000 and 400,000 euros.

Founded by American science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology claims 12 million members worldwide and 45,000 in France, where it is considered a cult. The Church of Scientology is recognized as a religion in the United States and in certain European countries, for example Spain, Italy, Holland, and Sweden.

 

[mnql1]

Scientologists accused of brainwashing French company’s employees

Scientologists accused of brainwashing French company’s employees
By RFI
July 24, 2014

French prosecutors are investigating the Church of Scientology for alleged harassment of the employees of a company whose boss had joined the organisation. The workers claim that Scientologist trainers tried to brainwash them and embezzled up to two millions euros from the firm.

The 12 employees of building firm Arcadia, based at Voisins-le-Bretonneux near Paris, claim that Scientologists became “omnipresent” in the business after their boss turned to the cult following the death of one of his children in 2000.

<more in the article>

 

[Enthetan]

Translation of a French article posted on July 24, 2014 on the website of the daily newspaper La Croix:
L’Église de Scientologie visée par une nouvelle enquête

"The Scientology trainers infiltrated the company for the sole aim of plundering it financially, for their personal profit and that of Scientology"

Is this a public corporation, or otherwise not personally owned by the President? It would seem that the actual owners/shareholders would be the ones to complain about plundering, not the employees.

 

[mnql1]

Translation of a French article posted on July 24, 2014 on the 20minutes.fr website:
Arcadia: «Ce n’est pas parce que je suis scientologue que mon entreprise l’est»

Arcadia: "Just because I'm a Scientologist does mean my company is a Scientology enterprise"

by Vincent Vantighem
20minutes.fr
July 24, 2014

Frédéric Langlois, president of Arcadia, is the target of a complaint filed by employees who accuse him of implementing management methods associated with the Church of Scientology. He responded to our questions ...


"Surprised" and "saddened," Frédéric Langlois, the president of Arcadia, learned on Wednesday from 20 Minutes that he is the subject of a complaint filed by twelve of his employees for "psychological harassment" and "abuse of weakness." The employees asserted that they were forced by their president to take training provided, according to them, by Scientologists. The Versailles public prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation at the beginning of June.

On Thursday afternoon, Frédéric Langlois agreed to answer questions from 20 Minutes.

Did you know that twelve of your employees had filed a complaint against you and the Church of Scientology for "psychological harassment?"
Until now, I hadn't been informed of the complaint against me. I found out from your article. I don't know the precise details.

Many of your employees say in the complaint that management methods associated with the Church of Scientology were used in your company. Are you a member of the Church of Scientology?
I am a Scientologist. I don't hide it. The persons who know me know this. But there was never any question of practicing Scientology in the company. The fact that we use certain administrative processes for operating a business doesn't make the company a Scientology enterprise.

There are many companies in the world that use L. Ron Hubbard's business processes. That doesn't mean they are Scientology companies.

So you acknowledge that you've used L. Ron Hubbard administrative processes in your company?
Some of them, yes. That's business organization. They're management methods that are taught in schools ...

In their complaint, the employees claimed to have been forced to follow Training Routines that are frequently used by the Church of Scientology, for example, reading passages from "Alice in Wonderland" or taking insults from colleagues. Is this true?
This is exactly why I don't wish to get into details. I don't know what the complaint says. I don't want to answer this question until I understand every aspect of the complaint.

Do you know about the Training Routines method?
Yes, I do. I've applied it myself in my life as a person. I find this very funny. But there was never an intention to implement that here.

According to the employees, Scientologists were also brought in to the company as consultants. Is this correct?
Yes, they are Scientologists. I met them at the church. I have no problem talking about this. I know a lot of people. Some are Scientologists, others aren't. They came and they went.

There are 80 persons in the company. People come, people go ... If I were to use everyone in the church, there would be millions of people here. That's not what this is about.

Twenty employees left your company in a little over a year. Did you say to yourself there's a problem?
Yes, we can't say there's no problem. This is a big issue for me. It's too complicated, too early to identify a determining factor. I have to step back and look.

How is your company faring today?
I will only say that many employees had predicted we wouldn't hold out until June. So there does seem to be an intention behind this.

Do you think the purpose of the complaint is to destroy your company?
This is a bit what I'm feeling today. For what purpose? I don't know.

What is your outlook today?
I'm surprised and saddened. I'm very sad because these are people I trained myself ... I'm waiting to see exactly what their complaint says.

 

[CommunicatorIC]

RFI English: Scientologists accused of brainwashing French company’s employees
http://www.english.rfi.fr/americas/...cused-brainwashing-french-company-s-employees

French prosecutors are investigating the Church of Scientology for alleged harassment of the employees of a company whose boss had joined the organisation. The workers claim that Scientologist trainers tried to brainwash them and embezzled up to two millions euros from the firm.

The 12 employees of building firm Arcadia, based at Voisins-le-Bretonneux near Paris, claim that Scientologists became “omnipresent” in the business after their boss turned to the cult following the death of one of his children in 2000.

In 2008 he restructured the company following the advice of trainers they say were Scientologists.

The plaintiffs say they were forced to undergo a “training routine” which amounted to psychological harassment.

Sales staff were told they were “spoilt children” and otherwise insulted and forced to sit face to face without moving for two hours, they claim.

Other exercises included reading Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and repeating certain phrases as if they had thought of them and then repeat “Fish swim and birds fly”.

“These exercises were not imposed so that the employees work better but with the aim of enslaving and make them subservient,” their lawyer, Olivier Morice, told the AFP news agency.

“The scientologist trainers infiltrated the company with the sole intention of financially pillaging it for their personal profit and that of Scientology,” he said, estimating that between one and two million euros had been embezzled.

Sources confirmed that prosecutors in Versailles are investigating the charges.

Scientology, founded by science-fiction writer L Ron Hubbard in 1952, claims to be a religion but is classified as a cult in France.

In 2013 France’s appeals court confirmed fines of 200,000 and 400,000 euros on its bookshop and “Celebrity Centre” in Paris for organised fraud.

 

[Commander Birdsong]

Translation of a French article posted on July 23, 2014 on the 20minutes.fr website:
L’Eglise de scientologie visée par une enquête préliminaire pour «harcèlement moral» et «abus de faiblesse»

un-FUCKING-believable

helloo-oooh?

PTS Type E?

that old HAS course in the early seventies was GRRR-REAT!!!

but i bought it, and went in and studied it. and mostly people who bought it did well. as differentiated from people who merely had it sold to them. i actively bought it in spite of the heavy sales pitch which i found to be very off-putting and then got humongous case gain from it

but if someone is on it by someone else's determinism...

maybe they will connect to it but more likely not

and if it's a group outside the church one bad apple can spoil the barrel very quickly. one h&a person jackets tr-0 bull bait as abuse and motivates off it he or she has friends in group and the trainers don't

theoretically CoS should be able to slip out the case on the basis of it's pts E policy "this is not us. this not how we do things. the people who did it were on their own and we will discipline them for it" those who did it can be sued successfully but i don't think they'll be able to get at the church itself...

 

[mnql1]

From Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker:
French prosecutors investigating claims that a company forced Scientology on workers

French prosecutors investigating claims that a company forced Scientology on workers

Our man in Paris, Jonny Jacobsen, jumped into action after news broke this week of another possible Scientology prosecution in France. Here’s his report…

French prosecutors are investigating a complaint filed by 12 employees of a building firm who say their employer forced them to take part in Scientology courses.

The case is only in its early stages and may never make it to court. But one of France’s top lawyers, Olivier Morice — a veteran of court battles with the movement — is representing the workers who filed the complaint.

<more in the article>

 

[mnql1]

Translation of a French article posted on July 25, 2014 on the website of the daily newspaper Le Parisien:
La Scientologie soupçonnée de noyauter une entreprise des Yvelines

Scientology suspected of infiltrating a company in Yvelines

by Elisabeth Gardet
Le Parisien
July 25, 2014

Franck, a 52-year-old sales representative who joined building firm Arcadia-Mégacombles four years ago, has been on sick leave for depression since May. At the beginning of June, along with eleven of his colleagues, he filed a complaint for psychological harassment and abuse of weakness against the Spiritual Association of the Church of Scientology (Celebrity Centre).

According to these employees, the Church of Scientology has been "omnipresent" for the past year in the four agencies of the company, which specializes in conversions of attic space: the headquarters in Voisins-le-Bretonneux (Yvelines) and the offices in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône (Val-d'Oise), Lieusaint (Seine-et-Marne), and Flers-en-Escrebieux (Nord).

In early July, the Versailles public prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation and turned it over to the Assistance and Intervention Unit for Sectarian Abuses (CAIMADES). Since then, lips have been coming unsealed. Franck, a sales representative based in Val-d'Oise, wishes to speak out about "the collapse of a company that was booming" until the arrival of an outside consultant whose mission was to conduct an audit that was supposed to "improve the company's performance." The consultant was Cyrille Pincanon, who is reputed to be a "clear" in the Church of Scientology. "Overnight, the company's president became a parrot for this guy. The human resources manager and the accountant were removed and replaced by Scientologists," says Franck. "At meetings, they began distributing pages photocopied from Scientology books. Eventually, they even brought in the entire books. Anyone who protested was sidelined or dismissed."

Olivier Morice, a lawyer who specializes in matters related to Scientology, represents the twelve employees. "They literally infiltrated Arcadia to plunder it," he laments. Olivier Morice estimates that between 1 and 2 million euros were embezzled. The consultant alone allegedly received 430,000 euros for mandates through his company CYP Conseil, located in Tarn-et-Garonne. He established coaching sessions based on the "training routine" method that is very dear to Scientologists. A former Arcadia sales representative who shuttled for a year between Val-d'Oise and Yvelines still has nightmares about this. He describes "training" sessions in which employees had to sit still for two hours or learn the "bullbaiting" technique, which consists of insulting a colleague to the point of exhaustion. "It ended up lasting entire days. We hit rock bottom. They even managed to change the way we speak. It clung to me all the way up to my clients. "

Since the beginning of this week, a dozen employees who still work for the company contacted the first complainants to inform them that they would follow suit. The employees assert that the Scientologists were able to infiltrate the company because the door was opened to them by the president, Frédéric Langlois, who joined Scientology in 2000, following the death of a loved one. Contacted yesterday, the president said he "was not aware of a complaint against [him]" and "I don't wish to discuss this, to avoid interfering with the course of justice." Consultant Cyrille Pincanon did not respond to our requests.

Eric Roux, the spokesman for the Celebrity Centre, the Scientology entity named in the complaint, lashed out yesterday against a "ridiculous complaint that Celebrity Centre hasn't been able to get access to." "The Spiritual Association has never provided training to a business and is dedicated to the religious ministry of Scientology," he added.

Photo: Arcadia in Voisins-le-Bretonneux (Yvelines)

 

[mnql1]

Here, with English subtitles, is a French TV news report about the accusations of workplace harassment at the Arcadia building firm.

The son of the company's president, who has filed a complaint against his own father, appears at 1:16. The son tried to warn his parents about the Scientologists, but he was branded an enemy and left the company.

Scientology accused of workplace harassment in France
[video=youtube;gqmYgyClMhc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqmYgyClMhc[/video]

 

[AnonyMary]

Bravo for these people taking a stand, and the attorneys helping them get this investigated!

And much thanks to mnql1 and Jonny Jacobsen for keeping us abreast of all the information out of France and other European countries!

 

[mnql1]

According to the French newspaper Libération, the police investigation into the Arcadia case began on Thursday, September 11, 2014.

Here, with English subtitles, is a September 11, 2014 French TV news report about Scientology's infiltration of Arcadia.

At 1:31, the head of the company, Frédéric Langlois, admits he is a Scientologist but denies that he imported it into the workplace. At 2:00, his son Sébastien, one of the plaintiffs, says that he feels he lost his parents because Scientology stripped them of their humanity and emotions.

Building firm infiltrated by Scientology in France
[video=youtube;EmC4jPwVMyk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmC4jPwVMyk[/video]

 

[AnonyMary]

This is a big deal. Bravo to Langlois' son and the other former employees. As we see once again, Scientology destroys families, changes people into RonBots. Thanks so much for the update with subtitles.

 

[Leland]

According to the French newspaper Libération, the police investigation into the Arcadia case began on Thursday, September 11, 2014.

Here, with English subtitles, is a September 11, 2014 French TV news report about Scientology's infiltration of Arcadia.

At 1:31, the head of the company, Frédéric Langlois, admits he is a Scientologist but denies that he imported it into the workplace. At 2:00, his son Sébastien, one of the plaintiffs, says that he feels he lost his parents because Scientology stripped them of their humanity and emotions.

Building firm infiltrated by Scientology in France
[video=youtube;EmC4jPwVMyk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmC4jPwVMyk[/video]

It would be great if this New Group (19/20 France?) were helped with some more information.

And if the Lawyer on this case was helped with some information. Such as.....LRH stating that he got the Organization Board from the Galactic Confederation. Which to me means....either LRH lied about that....or it is part of his OT III stuff.....and space aliens and RJ6 and it IS scientology.

WISE is scientology...Was WISE involved....? Worldwide Institute of Scientology Enterprises

Or "Hubbard College"?

sometimes C of $ gets into a business....sure ok the owner here....but then he brings in what the C of $ calls "Secular" consultants. That it has nothing to do with the "Church".....but it is a lie ....because it is ALL SCIENTOLOGY teachings!

 

[mnql1]

Translation of a French article published on Thursday, September 11, 2014 in the daily newspaper Libération:

Arcadia: A company infiltrated by Scientology

The cult allegedly looted a prosperous firm and is now being sued by company employees for "psychological harassment". Police conducting first hearing today.

by Emmanuel Fansten
Libération
September 11, 2014

For a long time, he believed that everything would eventually work out, that his passion for his work would suffice to compensate for the daily vexations and the increasingly strange exercises imposed by his superiors. Then, a few months later, everything snapped. At the age of 36, François (a pseudonym) is now suddenly unemployed, with two children to support. With dark circles under his blue eyes and a haggard look, he says he has nightmares every night when he thinks of "them". Just mentioning "them" is enough to cause his leg to twitch nervously. "Them" are the Scientologists who little by little took possession of his company. Every day since he left his job, the former manager feels guilty, regrets not having blown the whistle sooner, and tries to understand exactly when everything turned upside down. Until last spring, François had an important position at Arcadia, a company based in Voisins-le-Bretonneux in the Yvelines department. Arcadia specializes in extensions of houses and conversions of attic space. It was a prosperous business with about a hundred employees and up to ten million euros in yearly sales.

On August 14, after weeks of open crisis, Arcadia went into receivership. Former manager François had been sidelined for refusing to follow the bidding of the Scientologists, and now he was branded as a "black spirit" by those who repudiated him. Along with eleven other employees, he filed a complaint for "psychological harassment" and "abuse of weakness". The public prosecutor's office in Versailles opened an investigation and assigned it to the police officers in the CAIMADES unit, the Assistance and Intervention Unit for Sectarian Abuses, which specializes in cult-related cases. The first hearing takes place today. Never before has Scientology had to face such retaliation. "We've collected damning evidence and we're going to see this through," warns François. "How can the government allow a cult to sink a company in the midst of an economic crisis?"

The Arcadia affair began nearly fifteen years ago, when the head of the company, Frédéric Langlois, brutally lost his daughter. Devastated, he turned to Scientology, which is sadly notorious for exploiting this kind of psychological frailty. Arcadia's employees knew about the organization's nefarious reputation, but no one dared broach the subject frankly. After all, their boss seemed to be coping better, and he wasn't proselytizing in any way. Though "monsieur Langlois" began saying strange things and prominently displaying on his desk a copy of Dianetics, the Scientologists' bible, this idiosyncrasy of his didn't yet have any impact on the running of the company.

For a long time, this coexistence went on without a hitch. But after several years of frequent visits to the Celebrity Centre in Paris, Frédéric Langlois had a social circle that consisted entirely of Scientologists. From 2006 onward, more and more Scientologists became closely interested in his activities.

For Scientology, this conscientious devotee had the ideal profile: unstinting loyalty to L. Ron Hubbard's theories and, above all, an extremely prosperous business. From the cult's ranks, one man stepped forward to take charge. Eric Ianna is a well-known figure among Scientology's membership in France. It was he, a few years earlier, who had introduced Frédéric Langlois to the intricacies of Dianetics. He taught his new protégé how to apply these precepts to the operation of a business. In addition to developing a "science of mental health", L. Ron Hubbard also wrote dozens of tracts on management and marketing. Eric Ianna is the head of Certitude, a coaching firm created in 1992 and, for many years, he has been teaching these techniques to managers and business leaders with total impunity. He is also affiliated with WISE (World Institute of Scientology Enterprises), a U.S. based Scientology offshoot whose members each pledge to pay it back a portion of their income.

With Frédéric Langlois' approval, the consultant began having Arcadia's employees undergo "skill assessments". The results, presented on graphs, invariably show that the test subjects are in a "danger zone". The remedy is an invitation to take the courses provided by Scientology. But even worse, sales representatives are also required to perform exercises called "TRs" ("training routines"), which are very dear to Scientologists. The first one is "TR0", in which two employees sit facing one another for two hours and are forbidden to speak or blink. In "TR bullbait", the same employees, again sitting face to face, have to take turns insulting one another.

As the cult was infiltrating the company little by little, day by day, another Scientologist appeared at Arcadia. Cyrille Pincanon is also one of the movement's prominent members. He was a character witness at the last Scientology trial, which ended in a conviction for organized fraud in 2009. Frédéric Langlois met him in 2007 at the Celebrity Centre. The two of them hit it off immediately. Aside from Dianetics, both found another passion they share: construction, a sector in which Pincanon worked for a long time before he set out as a consultant. Since Langlois was on a spiritual quest, Pincanon had another major quality: he is a "clear". In Scientology jargon, this term means "the optimum state of an individual who, through Scientology, has been freed of all neuroses". For less advanced devotees, this status confers a special aura upon its holder.

On Pincanon's advice, Frédéric Langlois agreed to reorganize his company according to the seven-division organization chart cherished by Scientologists. This mini-revolution was orchestrated with the help of another eminent Scientologist, Marc Arrighi, who figured in a similar case in the 1990s. But it was primarily Cyrille Pincanon who became omnipresent at Arcadia. In 2012, his firm, CYP Conseil, performed an audit that propounded "an overall change in behaviors". The consultant then ordered an audit of division 3 (treasury) and assigned it to Pascal Maffre, another Scientologist. The first measure put forward to cover the debts that were starting to weigh down the company was to halt all payments to URSSAF, which collects social security and family allowance contributions. From that point forward, things began to accelerate.

After gradually tightening their grip, the Scientologist consultants joined the company in February 2013 and seized key positions. Pascal Maffre, the man whose advice was to defraud URSSAF, was appointed head of the "treasury" division. Cyrille Pincanon took over division 5 ("qualifications"). The employees witnessed this putsch powerlessly as Pincanon became their de facto manager. Meanwhile, Pincanon's firm continued to charge money from Arcadia. In just over a year, nearly 450,000 euros were paid to CYP Conseil, as proven by the many documents that Libération was able to consult.

The atmosphere at Arcadia became noxious. Books, pamphlets, and DVDs published by the cult flooded the halls and meeting rooms. Internally, Cyrille Pincanon implemented a system of "deficiency reports" that obliged employees to report on the failings of other employees. Moreover, each employee was requested not to speak to any colleagues during working hours.

From then on, communication took place exclusively through memos issued to the appropriate division. Every message was centralized and monitored. For those who refused to play along, sanctions varied from simple blame or cancelation of bonuses to outright termination, not to mention those that fell into deep depression and were placed on sick leave. In just one year, more than thirty employees left the company.

None of the protagonists involved in the investigation replied to our requests. Contacted by telephone, Scientology spokesman Eric Roux says he is totally unconnected with this matter: "We have nothing to do with this company. This is an affair that was completely fabricated to do us harm."

 

[mnql1]

Georges Fenech was interviewed about the Arcadia case on September 12, 2014.

[video=youtube;lOGPoSVg5VA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOGPoSVg5VA[/video]

A transcript is available in the thread about this interview:

http://www.forum.exscn.net/showthre...-Scientology-Sept-12-2014&p=976295#post976295