Sunday morning, in our report of Scientology’s Paris Ideal Org opening, we said that we were still awaiting the church’s own press release about the event, but that our correspondents on the scene were reporting that David Miscavige was a no-show, only the third time the church leader hasn’t personally attended an Ideal Org grand opening.
Yesterday, Scientology finally did upload its press release, and it included photos of David Miscavige presiding over a ceremony inside the building (see above), but not pulling the ribbon outside the org, where he was definitely not present.
So, the church, at least, gives the impression that our correspondents outside the building simply missed the fact that Dave was inside, giving a speech on Saturday.
But is that what happened? Alex Barnes-Ross isn’t so sure. The former London staffer who was on the scene Saturday suggests that there’s evidence Miscavige was actually in town a week before, and may have taped the speech inside the building then. And a photograph in the press release gives us some reason to agree with Alex’s assumption.
But first, we have Jonny Jacobsen’s thoughts about Scientology’s press release, and then we will also take a look at the local speakers who showed up to shill for the church. Here’s Jonny’s take…
Well, the official statement is out and Scientology insists that its leader David Miscavige did indeed attend the opening.
From our vantage point, outside the entrance it was difficult to see, and Eric Roux, who handled PR for the event, was cheerfully vague on the subject. He wouldn’t say either way whether Miscavige and Tom Cruise would be coming.
Later, when the officials were marshalling the assembled Scientologists for the money-shot of the opening out front, Roux ventured that he thought between 2,000 and 2,500 Scientologists had attended. But he had the sense not to be too categorical about that.
The official statement, the usual mix of hyperbole and tactical omissions, speaks of “thousands” attending.
The photo above is one I took from the ground, standing next to one of their official camera stations. By then, the marshals had done their work. They had packed the visitors carefully in front of the entrance, handed out a few dozen French flags and rehearsed some enthusiastic bursts of cheering before actually launching the ticker-tape.
Scientology’s own carefully framed shots of the ribbon-cutting ceremony give the best view of the turnout. To get an idea of the number, look at their drone shot...
I could be wrong, but it looks like hundreds, not thousands, to me.
According to the official statement, Miscavige told the gathering that Paris was home to the very first Church of Scientology on European soil, established in 1959. And here’s where the tactical omissions come into play.
There is no mention of founder L. Ron Hubbard’s 1978 conviction — in absentia — for fraud.
No mention, either, of the 1987 conviction of two Scientologists over the death of a client at a Narconon centre. They had interpreted her repeated epileptic seizures as withdrawal symptoms — she had stopped taking her epilepsy medication before starting treatment there.
Nor does Miscavige appear to have had anything to say about the 1996 conviction, confirmed on appeal, of a senior official in Lyon following the 1988 suicide of a member there. He was convicted of manslaughter — homicide involontaire — after the court found that his relentless hard-sell had pushed his client to take his own life.
And finally, Miscavige does not appear to have mentioned that two Scientology organisations were in 2009 convicted by a Paris court of organised fraud for what was, essentially, standard operating procedure inside the movement. Again, this judgment was confirmed on appeal.
This is not, I should add, an exhaustive list of Scientology-related convictions in France. But perhaps Miscavige didn’t want the speech to drag on too long.
Another couple of points worth noting.
In the 2009 judgment, six defendants were convicted for the illegal practice of pharmacy over Scientology’s habit of handing out massive doses of vitamins to people taking their Purification Rundown. And yet, among the official photos of the new centre’s interior is a fully equipped Purification Center.
Finally, it is worth noting that while the French term for the movement has generally been Scientologie, the movement’s official release — in both English and French — sticks to “Scientology.” That is also what you can see posted above the entrance to the new centre.
Not sure what the Academie Française would have to say about that.
— Jonny Jacobsen
Thank you for that report, Jonny. Now, here are the local luminaries that Scientology scrounged up to shill for Dave. At the Austin ceremony last month they managed to rope in a local NAACP figure, and in Chicago they attracted a former alderman. But for Paris, it looks like it’s all “interfaith” and “human rights” cadavers.
The first speaker was identified as Dr. Mouslim Fidahoussen, “a prominent religious scholar, interreligious expert and Imam.”
“When it comes to all people, no matter their race or faith, we can all agree upon these main objectives of life: to be happy and to have the truth. You give them an opportunity to find their own way to happiness. Even right here in district 93, your legacy precedes you. Your teams have delivered The Way to Happiness to places where happiness was probably considered just a fairy tale. Door-to-door distribution in the roughest neighborhoods and hand-to-hand delivery into commercial districts, reaching bakeries, butchers and cafés—altogether you bestowed a miraculous 40,000 personal copies and, in so doing, you have made these streets smile.”
Next up was Jean Maher, “an international human rights expert.”
“It is an honor to speak to you at this unbelievable moment. As a citizen of France, I certainly consider it a duty and honor to carry forward this legacy of human rights. And your tradition of service includes delivering no less than 400,000 Human Rights booklets to the city squares, the train stations and all across France. By your actions in our communities, you are helping create a society that is not selfish, but rather one where people respect one another.”
The third speaker was David Guyon, a “constitutional law expert and university lecturer.”
“I speak to you today out of our shared partnership in seeking to shine the light of truth onto injustice. The restriction of freedom must be systematically contested and severely fought. Forced incarceration inside hospitals has doubled in recent years in this country. And with 80,000 hospitalizations a year, the real scene is grim. But with CCHR, I was able to push open doors where I couldn’t before, to counteract this rising abuse. You are the ones breaking the stranglehold of psychiatry and giving thousands back their lives!”
Next up was was Dr. Petar Gramatikov, of United Religions Initiative.
“The international interfaith community is founded upon bringing about a calmer, better society for all religions. If you want to know who is the voice of interfaith progress, it’s you—the Church of Scientology! You have demonstrated an unconditional commitment to interreligious unity. By so doing, you are promoting future peace, future partnership and future prosperity. It practically goes without saying that you are at the leading edge among today’s religious movements.”
And fifth (which is one more than they usually drag out), there was Elodie Maumont, “a tenacious attorney who specializes in defending civil liberties and religious freedom.”
“This moment is your realization. It was driven by your perseverance and your passion. If we could bottle just a small amount of the life you bring to what you do, this world would be a different, brighter and peaceful one. We are putting the Church back in the middle of the village. So, in honor of your Founder and his vision, this new Ideal Org stands in representation of that infinite freedom for all of Paris and all of France!”
There is also a photo of all five speakers with Dave, which is the usual custom with these things…
However, there’s something unusual also included in this slideshow, that’s a sixth speaker.
Here is the photo that was slotted after attorney Elodie Maumont but before the group shot…
And here’s the entire official caption:
MS. LISE CHOISNET, Public Affairs Director of the new Paris Ideal Org, extends an exuberant welcome before the ribbon falls: “It is actually true. Our dream has come alive. And the future awaits. So we invite you, all of France and every member of the IAS across the world to experience this dream now realized.”
Now, please consider that we’ve been keeping a fairly close eye on this Ideal Program for more than a decade. So we can tell you with some confidence that this is a very unusual photo and caption to be included in the slide show for the event.
Why? Because one of Scientology’s own employees, and someone in such a modest position as “public affairs director” of the new org, is not usually featured in a slide show.
And we have to ask, if Dave was right there, and had just given his own speech, why would someone else be asked to come out and welcome people “before the ribbon falls”? Why couldn’t Dave do that himself, even if he didn’t go outside the building and pull on the rope?
We may be wrong about this, but if Alex Barnes-Ross is correct and David Miscavige did tape his speech inside the building some number of days before the actual event, then this photo of Lise Choisnet announcing the ribbon cutting may support the idea that Dave wasn’t actually there on the day of the grand opening itself.
Well, either way, as Jonny points out, this press release was all about picking and choosing what information Scientology wants the French, and the world, to know about itself.
Thankfully, we have people like Jonny and Alex and so many others helping us bring you news about what Scientology is really all about.
On a final note we will include one more item that was left out of Scientology’s press release. And that is, the local municipality of Saint Denis put out a press release of their own on the occasion of Scientology’s grand opening.
It was not kind.
“The city of Saint-Denis is a city of emancipation. A city of progress. A city of knowledge. We are suffering with our residents the announcement of the inauguration of this site.”
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Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
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Dave always has a teleprompter screen in the podium. Yet he is the only one shot with a stack of papers in his hands. Must be a staged shot, though it has the right background.
It is true that he is completely paranoid about his speeches and always brings a printed copy in case the prompter fails. But it usually ends up to the side of the in-podium prompter screen.
I doubt very much that he was there for the ribbon cutting.
Bizarre that they found speakers of similar height to him, no need for forced perspective in the group shot. You can tell it is not faked by the podium height against the ties of the speakers.
In the old days we had the podium mike on a motorized lifter (my design) that would push the mikes up for Ray Mithoff and down to the lowest level for Dave. They always cut away from the podium when a speaker was walking on, so you never saw the mikes going up and down in the final edit. These new single mike setups are obviously not using the lifter, resulting in the mike being almost at the waistline of some speakers! But just right for Dave.
“perhaps Miscavige didn’t want the speech to drag on too long.”
Coffee. Ebrrrwhere.