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Au Revoir, Scientology?

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In recent weeks, Crash director Paul Haggis left the Church of Scientology over its alleged support for Proposition 8 in California, and a Paris judge convicted the church's French branch of fraud. A Daily Beast contributor thinks these developments could signal the end times for Scientology, at least in France.

According to writer Eric Pape, the tussle with the court in France, which resulted in a $900,000 fine, represents an existential threat to the religion some call a cult-like enterprise.

"Two things kept the judge from banning Scientology outright: a recent change in the law that made it impossible to ban an organization over fraud, and because he believed doing so would drive the organization into hiding and make it more difficult to monitor," says Pape, writing for The Daily Beast.

While Scientology has stumbled previously with specific cases in France, according to Pape, this latest case represents a more comprehensive assault on the church.

"But these latest verdicts were not merely condemnations of rogue employees, as were past convictions, they hit at the way that Scientology has acted in France," he writes.

Read the full analysis here.

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