Néo-Phare
After the September 11 attacks, Mussy predicted the end of the world, the time of which was repeatedly delayed after it failed to occur.
[1] After Bouguenec's death, Mussy formed a schismatic group, later saying that he considered the members of Phare-Ouest to be too religiously rigid "like the Pharisees", but the psychologist Sonya Jougla attributes this to both internal conflicts and his ambition.
[1] The name Néo-Phare was chosen after the protagonist of the 1999 film The Matrix, Neo, as Mussy was a fan of the movie, in combination with the previous group's title.
According to Olivier Mussy, the group lived cooperatively but not communally; members shared expenses and worked jobs half time, but maintained their own bank accounts.
[12] Early in the group's history, Mussy interpreted and taught Bouguenec's ideas, but he later began to fulfill a more messianic role.
Mussy claimed that Bouguenec had foreseen the destruction of the Twin Towers, and the group interpreted the attack as a sign of the end times.
Mussy said that Bouguenec had encrypted the date as 11/6 instead of 9/11 (inverting the number),[13] and said that the attacks were a message from God to prepare for the end.
[13] In December 2001, Néo-Phare convened in a crypt near the tomb of Mary Magdalene in Vézelay and attempted to communicate with her spirit, which they referred to as the "Divine Mother" and conceived of as the "female archetype".
Mussy mimicked Jesus on the cross while another member shouted out the French word beaucoup (lit. transl.
[16] The group often met at sacred sites, such as abbeys and historic castles, viewing them as locations of power.
Mussy viewed the tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany (which was discussed in a book written by Bouguenec) in Nantes as the key to the apocalypse.
[9] After the announcement, he exerted more control over Néo-Phare's members, separating 3 or 4 couples and reassigning them to others according to their "energies"—an extension of Bouguenec's soulmate doctrine.
Less than a month later, that member and her boyfriend left the group and denounced Mussy as a cult leader and a fake, saying he was a "seducer" who could "overwhelm" people.
[21] A member of Trossais's family said he had felt rejected by Mussy, who said he did not pray enough, and said that it was his fault the apocalypse had not happened on time.
[23] Mussy and his brother's version of events is that there had been a power struggle, saying that in July 2002, the couple attempted to take over Néo-Phare.
[6] Mussy interpreted this coup as reinforcing his claim of being the messiah and viewed the couple as "rebel angels", symbolic of the revolt against God.
Charges were not immediately brought, as there was no proof of crimes such as financial misappropriation or involvement of minors in the organization.
[5][30] When they stayed inside the house for a long period, the police began to worry they were plotting mass suicide like the Order of the Solar Temple.
[20] By September, there had begun a media frenzy around the case; news reports suggested that the group may have been intending to commit mass suicide.
[22][2] The prosecution accused Mussy of causing Trossais's suicide by pressuring him and through "techniques of thought reform" that affected his judgment.
[42] Mussy's attorney argued that he was being used as a "guinea pig" to test the new law; he told the court that "One is asking you to be psychiatric magistrates.
[34] Mussy's attorney argued that the group's members were responsible adults, capable of free choice.
The prosecutor argued that the deposition showed that they were brainwashed victims in a psychologically impressionable mental state, and Abgrall said they suffered from Stockholm syndrome.
[24] The public prosecutor requested a 30-month suspended sentence, with 6 months to be served, as well as that Mussy be banned from leading any group and that he undergo a 5-year socio-educational follow-up.
[24][19] The verdict was celebrated by anti-cultists; National Assembly member Jean-Pierre Brard declared that it was "excellent news", while the prosecutor stated that "nothing will ever be the same", calling Mussy's conviction a "victory".
[48][11] The case was interpreted as a warning and a precedent: Mussy's attorney declared, following the verdict, that "This is not a conviction that is neutral.
[24] Mussy later said of his conviction that "It was clear the National Assembly had a new law and they wanted to try it out on some little group to make an example—not a big powerful [cult] like Scientology that has lots of money to defend itself.
[50][20] She also argued that Néo-Phare did not fit the typical cult mass suicide model (like the Solar Temple, Jonestown, and Heaven's Gate), and criticized what she believed was inadequate research of the group itself during the legal process, including its theology and history.
[51] She said it may have been an attempt by the French justice system to compensate for the innocent verdict in the Tabachnik trial of the Order of the Solar Temple.
[52] She also argued that the very high defection rate (14 of the 20 members had left over time) evidenced Mussy was not "a particularly effective brainwasher".
