14 DAY TRIAL // The Cannes Film Festival is the place to go if you have a movie to promote. Apparently, the Cannes Film Festival is also the place to go if you want to spread the word on a more or less actual religion: Scientology is recruiting in France.
Jo Piazza of PopEater is in Cannes for the festival and, among other things, she also noticed a center that recruits believers for the Church of Scientology.
The outpost is in a very visible location, is called “La Dianétique” and has already been visited by countless celebrities, one staffer tells Piazza without revealing any names.
It also boasts a staff that speaks 5 languages and a wide range of books for those interested in finding more about the cult before joining it.
Piazza says she was shocked to find out that Scientology would actually do that, go to Cannes, to get more believers, but the aforementioned staffer assures her they’ve been doing so for many years.
It just never got out in the media, somehow.
“This center has a crew that speaks five languages, consisting of Scientologists flown to Cannes from around the world,” Piazza writes.
“They mainly seem to spend their days hollering on the sidewalk, asking passersby if they can ‘show them something’ inside the center, which is festooned with a sign boldly declaring ‘La Dianétique,’ or ‘Dianetics,’ the religion’s leading text,” she adds.
After an auditing session, Piazza blows her cover and the staffer realizes she’s a reporter: as she tries to leave, she’s asked for her e-mail so they can have a PR rep contact her for more details.
Shortly afterwards, Eric Roux, Scientology spokesman involved the Celebrity Center, agrees to take questions about Scientology’s activity in Cannes.
“We are very well-received there. As you may know, we, as Scientologists, love to spread our religion and make it known. Best way for people to know about it is to get them the opportunity to read L. Ron Hubbard books,” Roux says.
“Cannes, beside the ‘people’ side of the festival, is also a great place for artists during this festival. And we have a lot of demand for Scientology, so we are here to respond to it,” he adds.
He too refuses to name the celebrities who have already visited the center.