Last month we brought you the news from Scientology’s Impact magazine that reported on the whales and their new trophies — the big donors who were feted on November 4 at that IAS Patrons Ball in all of their black-tie glory.
But the magazine also reported on some of the other things that happened at the IAS gathering, including church leader David Miscavige’s reveal that the new Paris “Ideal Org” is about to open any day now.
The magazine is really bursting about this thing, and we thought you’d want to see just how much they’re gushing about it. Here is what the magazine has to say about it…
THE IDEAL LIGHT SHINES IN PARIS
Reflecting the cultural importance of this megacity, an eye-catching building within sight of thousands of commuters will advance true freedom for all of France. Here’s a look at the latest IAS-sponsored Ideal Org
City of light. City of love. City of the Louvre. For lovers of art, food and fashion, there is no place like Paris, the cultural capital of the world. And here’s another reason to say Vive Paris! It is now the location of the new Ideal Church of Scientology and Celebrity Centre of Greater Paris.
It’s been a long-held goal, and with IAS sponsorship, this strategically located, architecturally striking 93,326-square-foot building is about to open its doors and welcome all Parisians in Ideal fashion. And when it does, it will join a pantheon of IAS-sponsored Ideal Orgs in cities of international importance.
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
Scientology first planted roots in Paris in 1959, when Europe’s first Church of Scientology was founded here. While the Church has had to battle resistance of epic proportions throughout the decades, this new building is a glorious sign that the Church has emerged triumphant.
180,000 vehicles a day travel on the Autoroute du Nord, France’s busiest highway, which passes by the Paris Ideal Org.
Situated just north of Paris in Saint-Denis, home to the historic Basilique Cathédrale, our six-story building — clad in reflective glass — is two blocks from the Stade de France. With a capacity of over 80,000, it’s the nation’s largest stadium. Built to host the 1998 World Cup (that would be soccer to Americans, football to the rest of the world), it’s the site of concerts for headliners such as Beyonce, U2 and Justin Timberlake. When Paris hosts the 2024 Summer Games, the Stade de France will be a prominent venue for many Olympic events, including the Closing Ceremony. So our eye-catching building will catch the attention of sports viewers from around the world.
Just a 20-minute drive to the Arc de Triomphe, it’s located on the Autoroute du Nord (A1), the nation’s busiest motorway, which runs from Paris to Charles de Gaulle Airport and to the city of Lille. The org is just a five-minute walk from a major train station, making it easily accessible.
Let the Spiritual Revolution Begin
While the mirrored exterior of the Ideal Org reflects its surroundings, the interior spaces reflect the ideal standards of Scientology. Visitors enter into a grand atrium that rises like a giant sequoia, the design inspiration for the interior of this building. Metal rings, representing the growth circles of the tree, are laid into the terrazzo floor. A white winding staircase with a sequoia-leaf-patterned guardrail seemingly soars to the sky, illuminated in part by massive skylights. The organic elements of the sequoia are integrated into a modern European aesthetic that is minimal and luxurious.
Formerly the French headquarters for a multinational electronics corporation, this example of architectural excellence will once again be a center of technology, but instead of marketing electronic devices, thanks to the support of our IAS members, it will be the nation’s center for spiritual technology and the attainment of total freedom.
….
Did you happen to catch that reference to the fact that France has investigated, prosecuted, and in general disrespected Scientology for decades? Miscavige couldn’t help making an allusion to it. And we can’t help wondering what the French press is going to make of this new monument to Miscavige’s ego when it opens this month, and so close to where the Olympics will be going on this summer.
Mon dieu.
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I remember back in the late 90’s when I was on the RPF, we were building a massive amount of furniture that was secretly being shipped away somewhere. We called it “the cherry project”, because that was the wood we were using for it. Paul Burkhart oversaw this extremely secretive project.
I remember the extremely tedious task I was assigned: the reception desk they wanted it to shine like a piano. So I lacquered, and sanded and lacquered and sanded and sanded and sanded until it shone like the top of a piano. Fun times, saving the world.
Miscavige took great pride in opening the org in Germany, despite all the government attacks on Scn in that country at the time. I want to say it was Hamburg org, but I can’t be sure.
He loved being able to open that org right under the nose of the opposition.
And so they do it again in France.
Scientology wants to “free” the world, whether they want it or not.
Scientology boasting seems to always be dripping with condescension and a complete lack of cultural competence. I am surprised they haven’t slapped a beret and pencil mustache on the building.
Because a building is visible from a highway does not mean everyone is going to suddenly careen off the highway to visit it and sell you their thetan. And no one needs to be clam-splained about American football vs. soccer.
And sorry, other than ‘displaced California’ I don’t get the sequoia symbolism coming from an organization that thought nothing of chopping down two ancient oaks so there would be room for a revival tent show.