Alain Vivien

Alain Vivien (born August 20, 1938) is a French Socialist Party (PS) politician,^[1]^[2] best known for chairing (1998–2002) the French Mission Interministérielle pour la Lutte contre les Sectes, MILS,^[3] a ministerial organization designed to observe the activities of various religious organizations defined as "Sectes" (cults).

Early career

He was mayor of Combs-la-Ville in 1977–1983 and 1989–1992. In 1983 he was elected to the French National Assembly for Seine-et-Marne as a PS candidate. The author of a report on cults requested by Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy in 1982, he was Secretary of State under Édith Cresson in 1991–1992. From 1997 to 1998 he was president of the Centre contre les manipulations mentales.^[4]

^ Hart, K., M. Blanchot and Z. Paul. 2010. Political Writings, 1953–1993: Fordham University Press. [1].
^ Côté, P., E. Barker and Université Laval. Groupe de recherches en sciences de la religion. 2001. Chercheurs de Dieux Dans L'espace Public: Groupe Beauchemin. [2].
^ Tromso, N.J.R.L.A.P.R.U. 2009. Scientology: Oxford University Press, USA. [3].
^ Palmer, Susan J. (2011). The New Heretics of France: Minority Religions, la République, and the Government-Sponsored "War on Sects". Oxford University Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-19-973521-1.

^ (in French) Pourquoi la bataille anti-sectes a échoué ? ("Why did the fight against cults fail?") by Thomas Lardeur, VSD, August 22 to 28, 2002
^ CESNUR, Anonymous, Innocents Abroad: French Anti-Cultists, Mission Support China’s Anti-Cult Campaign [4] (Retrieved October, 2005)
^ Le Parisien, June 19, 2002.
^ (in French) Sectes : Alain Vivien placé sous protection policière L'Humanité, January 14, 1999 [5].
^ Council of Europe, Report regarding FECRIS by Dick Marty: Doc 10470 of 7 March 2005