He is a member of the Parliamentary Office for evaluation of scientific and technological options, and he participates in various task forces and commissions on sects, the economy and finance.
[2] In 1999, he wrote the "Sects and Money" report alongside Jacques Guyard, published by a different French parliamentary commission dedicated to investigating the financial status of cults.
[8] He was sued again by them in 2006, after Brard said their denial of blood transfusions resulted in people's deaths, that they did not pay taxes, and that they covered up serious in-group crimes; this was ruled defamatory but as the statement was deemed to have been made in "good faith" he was again acquitted.
In 2001, the Court of Appeal of Paris ruled that while Brard had in fact made defamatory statements, as he had chaired the commission for the Sects and Money report it had been done in good faith and was not guilty.
The president of the École pratique des hautes études stated in response that "Not since the maréchal of MacMahon during the crisis of May 16 under the Third Republic have we seen in France a public official interrupting an act of worship.
"[8] The next year, in an unrelated incident, he was found guilty of religious discrimination and fined €1500, in addition to €2000 in court costs and €5000 damages, after he cut the microphone of an alderman during a council meeting and claimed that her wearing of a Catholic cross violated laïcité.