Although the report has no official legislative power, it has nonetheless been quoted as authoritative in several court cases and has resulted in widespread consequences for members of minority religions. A member of the Jehovah's Witnesses was fired from a public school after years of honorable service apparently for no other reason than that he was a member of one o the listed groups. At least one bombing has been linked to this atmosphere of hate. The troupe, Office Culturel de Cluny, has been denied the use of public theaters for its shows and is reportedly nearly bankrupt as a result. The French Ministry of Youth and Sport now employs anti-cultists to speak to youth organizations and athletic groups about the evils of minority religions, and Time magazine reports that there are plans to fund hundreds of offices nationwide to educate young people against organizations on the List.
Critics say the French report is riddled with unsubstantiated rumors and false information.
The poor scholarship evident in the French Report has not stopped it from setting a trend for other countries in Europe. In Belgium, a parliamentary commission on cults released its report on April 1997. Children of minority religions hear their teachers in public schools ridicule their parents' religious beliefs and practices and face derision by classmates as a result. Listed groups are not allowed to incorporate or own property. In effect, they must operate as underground organizations.