What to do with a cult-like association?

Verified 18 August 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

In the event that the leaders of an association exercise control over its members or their relatives and harm their health, psychological balance, financial situation or family relations, victims, their relatives or former members have several possibilities. They can obtain information, seek help, make a report or take legal action. We present you the information to know.

For information about an association that seems to you to have a sectarian tendency, you can follow the following steps:

  1. Search for available information about this association : you can consult the official documents of the association (statutes, minutes of general meeting, financial statements).
  2. Inform you about the clues facilitating the characterization of a risk of sectarian drift :: the Inter-ministerial Mission for Vigilance and the Fight against Sectarian Abuses (Miviludes) provides guides and fact sheets to better identify these signs.
  3. Query Miviludes for its opinion on this particular association: Miviludes centralizes reports and can assess whether an association has characteristics of sectarian drift.
  4. Consult the specialized resources of Miviludes, which include the analyses carried out within the framework of the National Observatory of Sectarian Drifts. This observatory collects and examines reports at the national level, proposes solutions adapted to the situations identified, and publishes annual reports offering an overview of sectarian issues in France. You can access these publications to better understand the phenomena related to sectarian excesses.

FYI  

Miviludes regularly publishes recommendations on practices that may pose a risk in various areas (health, well-being, training, personal support, personal development,...).)

After you have collected some information about the association, you can inform the following instances:

  • Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and the Fight against Sectarian Abuses (Miviludes)
  • Professional and/or victim support association
  • National Center for Assistance and Prevention of Radicalization (Cnapr)
  • State Administration
  • Police station or gendarmerie (to report or file a complaint).

Miviludes

You wish to inform Miviludes of the existence or risk of sectarian drift so that you can be helped or be guided in your steps:

Inform Miviludes of the existence or risk of sectarian drift

You can also contact the local Miviludes correspondents within the regional or departmental administrations.

Letters to local Miviludes correspondents within regional or departmental administrations, and to professionals should be sent to the corresponding Sectarian Drifts of the service or organization concerned.

Professionals and associations

You can also contact health professionals (departmental councils of the order of doctors, pharmacists,...) or associations of victims of sectarian excesses.

These different interlocutors can inform you, accompany you in your steps and, for some associations, intervene in legal proceedings to defend the interests of people victims of sectarian abuses.

National Center for Assistance and Prevention of Radicalization (Cnapr)

If you are confronted with the radical commitment of a loved one, you can contact the National Center for Assistance and Prevention of Radicalization (Cnapr).

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By phone

Who shall I contact

  • Listen, inform and advise families wishing to report a situation of radicalization.

    By phone

    0,800,005,696

    Free service and calls

    Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm.

Rectorate, French regional health authority or DDETS

You can also write to the Rectorate, the regional health agency, the departmental directorate in charge of employment, labor and solidarity (DDETS).

Who shall I contact

Police station and gendarmerie

You can go to the police station or the gendarmerie brigade as soon as a offense was committed.

These may include, for example:

Your complaint must be directed against the association (and its members perpetrators of the offenses) so that its criminal liability as a legal person may be engaged.

On site

You can contact a police station or a gendarmerie brigade of your choice.

Who shall I contact

The complaint is transmitted to the public prosecutor by the police or gendarmerie.

By post

You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.

To do this, you need to send a letter to court of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.

Your mail should include the following:

  • Your marital status and full contact details (address and telephone number)
  • Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
  • Name of the alleged perpetrator if you know him (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
  • Name and address of any witnesses to the offense
  • Description and provisional or definitive estimate of injury
  • Your proof documents: medical certificates, work stoppages, photographs, videos, various invoices, statements...

You can use the following mail template:

File a complaint with the public prosecutor

You can send your complaint by mail or file it directly at the reception of the court.

If you file a complaint, an investigation will be conducted. If the perpetrator is identified, he or she may be prosecuted and convicted by a criminal jurisdiction.

Please note

In the event of prosecution of the alleged perpetrator, you can constitute a civil party to obtain damages and interest. If the complaint is filed without follow-up or if you have not heard from the police, gendarmerie or public prosecutor for more than 3 months following your complaint, you can file a complaint. complaint with civil action.

The presence of a lawyer is not required for the filing of complaints and throughout the proceedings until the trial before the court. However, you can get the assistance of a lawyer if you wish.

Who shall I contact

FYI  

If you don't have the financial resources to pay for this professional, you can eventually obtain legal aid.

Offenses related to cult abuse include situations where a person is under the influence of a group or individual, is financially exploited, or has to engage in behavior that is dangerous to their health or safety.

The specific infringements of sectarian tendencies include the following situations:

  • Placing or maintaining a person in a state of psychological or physical dependence causing him to lose some of his free will. This offense is punishable by 3 years' imprisonment and €375,000 fines (penalties increased to 5 years and €750,000 if the victim is a minor).
  • Taking advantage of this state of dependency to induce a person to perform an act or to refrain from acting when it seriously harms him. This offense is punishable by 3 years' imprisonment and €375,000 fines (penalties increased to 5 years and €750,000 if the victim is a minor).
  • Inducing a person to give up or not seek necessary medical care. This offense is punished. This offense is punishable by 1 year's imprisonment and €30,000 fines (increased to 3 years and €45,000 if this provocation is followed by effect).
  • The use of the internet, social networks or other digital means to commit these offenses, increasing the penalties up to 5 years in prison and €750,000 of fine.

Make a report to the department

The Departmental Child Welfare Services (Ase) are responsible for collecting and processing information of concern concerning minors at risk or at risk.

Who shall I contact

After assessing the situation, the Ase Service may refer the matter to the Public Prosecutor if its actions have proved ineffective in remedying the child's situation of danger.

Call the national helpline for children at risk

Adults and minors confronted with or concerned by a situation of risk and danger may make a report to the national helpline for children at risk (SNATED). This service is commonly called Hello Childhood Abused.

Information of concern is forwarded to the department concerned.

Who shall I contact

  • A telephone number for any child or young person who is a victim of violence or anyone who is concerned about a situation of a child in danger or at risk.

    By phone

    119 (free and confidential call)

    24/7

    A call on this number is geolocated, identified and prioritized. It does not appear on the invoices.

    On the website www.allo119.gouv.fr

Seek the intervention of the juvenile judge

The children's judge may act when the health, safety or morals of a minor are in danger.

The children's judge may also be called upon if the conditions of education or physical, emotional, intellectual and social development are seriously compromised.

The intervention of the judge may be requested by one of the two parents or the two jointly or the person or service to whom the child has been entrusted or the legal guardian or the minor himself.

Involve administrative and educational authorities

In a situation where a minor might be exposed to sectarian drift, administrative and educational authorities could take action to ensure the safety and well-being of the child. They have different means:

  • The departmental services, in coordination with the prefects, may order an administrative inquiry to verify the environment in which the minor is living. This investigation may also include unannounced visits to the structures or communities involved.
  • If the minor is enrolled at home or in an associative structure suspected of sectarian excesses, a reinforced pedagogical control may be requested. National education inspectors will ensure that the right to education is respected.
  • Where sectarian drift includes exposure to manipulative online content, authorities can report such content to digital platforms for deletion and take awareness-raising measures within schools.
  • In collaboration with health professionals, psychological follow-up of the minor can be organized to assess the impacts of sectarian practices and offer him appropriate support.

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