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Patron Meritorious
Translation of a French article published on Saturday, July 13, 2013 in the Angers edition of the daily newspaper Le Courier de l'Ouest, page 3. The article is not available on the newspaper's website, but it has been reproduced on some websites devoted to monitoring cults (example).
Snapshot of the article from the print edition:
No compensation for Scientology
by Jean-Yves Lignel
Courier de l'Ouest
July 13, 2013
Photo caption: Angers, May 2009. For 3 long years, Scientology was prohibited from distributing publications in Angers.
The Nantes administrative court denied Scientology's request for compensation.
The Nantes administrative court has rejected a 7,000-euro compensation claim filed by Scientology against the city of Angers. Not only will the cult receive nothing, it also has to pay court costs.
- The cult requested compensation from the administrative court for having been prohibited from distributing literature in Angers. It will get nothing...
In October 2007, Scientology booklets were discovered at Angers city hall. One of them was titled "The Way to Happiness: A Common Sense Guide to Better Living" and featured the statement "Presented by Jean-Claude Antonini, Mayor of Angers" along with the city's logo. The booklet's back cover displayed a photo of the mayor with the quotation "Values are important."
This was clearly a provocation, since Jean-Claude Antonini is not fond of Scientology. In fact, not fond at all ... This propaganda document, which had all the appearances of a booklet published and distributed by the City of Angers, instantly reignited the trench warfare that began a decade ago between Angers and Scientology.
"The Way to Happiness" by ... Jean-Claude Antonini?
The mayor immediately issued an order on October 29, 2007 prohibiting any document produced by Scientology from being distributed in Angers.
This action was strong and blunt, motivated by a fierce determination to oppose the cult. However, the administrative court ruled in 2010 that the prohibition was "disproportionate" and the order was rescinded.
Scientology then filed a claim for compensation for the damage caused by this "wrongful" order. Since it was unable to pursue its normal activity selling and promoting religious books, Scientology argued that it had lost the opportunity to meet new customers.
SEL (Scientologie Espace Librairie), a Scientology company specialized in the sale of books, complained to the Nantes administrative court demanding 7,000 euros in compensation from the City of Angers and also 3,000 euros from the French government, which, according to Scientology, should have overturned the order earlier.
The court dismissed the case, noting that the booklet was clearly of a nature to disturb public order and that the mayor's order was overruled only because of its disproportionate character.
Scientology is officially considered a cult in France. In the decision rendered on February 2, 2012 at the end of a high-profile trial, the Paris Court of Appeal fined SEL 200,000 euros for "organized fraud."
Snapshot of the article from the print edition: