Unification Church Has Declined to a Few Hundred Followers in France, Miviludes Official Says

The Unification Church, formally the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, is considered a “sectarian movement” in France, but Hervé Machi, Secretary General of the Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and Combating Sectarian Drift (Miviludes), said it “no longer has the same resonance.” He estimated the movement has between 200 and 300 adherents in France, and said its activity in so-called “cultural” centres has been reduced.

One such centre is the “Culture and Peace” space in Paris’s 13th arrondissement, which hosts thematic conferences and depends on the Unification Church, according to the source.

The movement’s largest presence in France was in the 1970s and 1980s. Machi said that since the late 1990s it has experienced a “very sharp decline” there, a development that coincides with what he described as increased vigilance by public authorities.

Machi recalled that the Unification Church was named as a sectarian movement in French parliamentary reports in 1995 and 1999. He said the movement has been accused of “brainwashing, indoctrination of young people, and the collection of money,” and noted that the organization defends itself against these accusations. At the time of the reports, he said, the movement was still well established and had “a very important financial heritage in France,” including castles.

Machi observed that, unlike some other movements such as the Church of Scientology, the Unification Church has largely left France over the past decade. The church is mainly based in the United States, Japan and South Korea, the homeland of its founder.

Miviludes nonetheless continues to monitor the group and its affiliates, Machi said, describing it as “a great movement, a powerful multinational.” He characterized it today as “more an international and financial empire” that remains influential through its “international ramifications” and lobbying activity.

The movement also extends its influence through associative and charitable structures, the source reports, including the Federation of Families for World Peace and the Universal Peace Federation. Some of these bodies have obtained consultative status with organizations such as the United Nations.

Source: Read the original report (translated from French)