The Conseil National des Évangéliques de France (CNEF), the leading evangelical alliance in France, denounced a national television program that it says portrayed evangelical Christians as ultraconservative, homophobic and manipulative.
In a statement signed by CNEF leaders, including President Erwan Cloarec, the group said it was “shocked” by the Sept. 25 broadcast of France 2’s Envoyé spécial episode, titled “Evangelicals: A Not So Angelic Success?” The alliance accused the program of stigmatizing France’s 1.2 million evangelical Protestants and misrepresenting their faith.
Envoyé spécial, a Thursday evening investigative program hosted by French journalist and TV host Elise Lucet, set out to examine the rapid growth of evangelical churches in France, noting that a new church opens every 10 days. Producers said they visited one of the country’s largest evangelical congregations to explore what draws so many new believers.
But the report, CNEF argued, turned critical by highlighting the “rare testimony of a family of ‘deconverts’ and a former pastor”, alleging “control techniques” over church members and the persistence of conversion therapies in some congregations.
The report is a clear attack on evangelical Protestantism and the Christian faith as a whole, stated CNEF, in reaction to the broadcast.
“Equating evangelicalism with an ultraconservative, homophobic movement, and presenting it primarily through biased staging, amounts to stigmatizing … all French Christians,” the statement read.
CNEF said the broadcast used “questionable journalistic methods,” including leading questions, accusatory editing, and failing to consult experts. “These methods create suspicion and fuel unfounded prejudices; they constitute fertile ground for discrimination and stigmatization,” added CNEF.
The alliance reaffirmed its commitment to freedom of conscience and religion, stressing that evangelicals are “proud to believe in the God we encounter in the Bible: a living, loving God who still acts concretely today in response to prayer.”
“In this, we defend our biblical convictions, our freedom to pray, and to accompany each person in a chosen, fulfilling, and authentically lived faith,” it added.
CNEF said it continues to work with the French government’s Mission for Vigilance and to Combat Sectarian Aberrations (Miviludes) to address genuine abuses and excesses, including illegal conversion therapy practices.
The group said it would file formal objections about the broadcast with the Ministry of the Interior and ARCOM, France’s media regulator, to defend “fundamental freedoms and guarantee pluralism of opinions in the public sphere.”
CNEF also invited journalists to attend an inter-church evangelical service scheduled for Oct. 5 in more than 90 cities as part of the 2025 Celebrations, calling it “a time of rejoicing for evangelical Protestants” and an opportunity for open dialogue.
“An honest dialogue between media and religious actors helps to better inform the public and contribute to a society where the diversity of beliefs and practices is understood and respected,” CNEF said.
