The second profiles six case study NRMs and their involvement in the "sect wars": Aumism, the Church of Scientology, the Raëlian movement, Tabitha's Place, Horus, and Néo-Phare.

[3] The relatives of many people in such groups were concerned, and some NRMs have practice eccentric behavior, especially regarding sex, alternative medicine, and child raising.

[2] Following the Order of the Solar Temple case, in which members of a NRM committed ritual mass murder-suicide in several incidents in the 1990s, there was renewed support for state intervention against purported cults amongst politicians, the media and the populace.

This resulted in several initiatives, including the creation of several inter-ministerial task forces designed to address cults, and the passage of the About–Picard law, which made "brainwashing" a criminal offense.

[2] In an introduction, Palmer declares her objective to be to provide an accurate account of the conflict, what Palmer calls the "French sect wars",[8] and says that though she does not "expect my readers to care about whether Scientology or any other sect succeeds in its struggle for social legitimacy, surely the French public’s perception of, or attitude toward, Muslims, Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Buddhists and Sikhs does matter",[7] viewing the conflict as reinforcing bias against all non-Catholic religion in France.

She follows many of the specific legal actions performed by the French state to fight cults, including the About–Picard law, the report of sectes, and the formation of the anti-cult organizations UNADFI and MIVILUDES.

[8] Gearóid Barry writing for Religious Studies Review praised it as "significant, readable, and suitable for a wide audience", but described it as a "robust polemic", while Melchior Pelleterat de Borde writing for Sociology of Religion called the book "impressive" and "a remarkable achievement" in light of how difficult undertaking any "serious research" on the topic in France given the polarization of the topic.

[4] In The Journal of Religion, Melissa K. Byrnes praised the book as a "thorough study" of the topic matter and complimented its writing quality and presentation of its thesis.

'France and its "Cults": Conflict Dynamics between Catholicism, Secularism and Religious Freedom'), called the research contained within the book and the data collection was valuable.

He viewed the book as relying largely on "broad, impressionistic historical analyses" from sociologists, lacking works from historians that would have helped contextualize.

[2] Barry also viewed the historical context as lacking compared to the coverage of state policy, noting several lines of inquiry that Palmer did not touch on.

She also doubted any portrayal of the French media as "a unified actor", arguing this did not account with the book's own mention of journalists who sided with NRMs.

[2] Barry called the work "topical" in 2013, given that year's ruling by European Court of Human Rights against France in their treatment of the Aumists.

[4] De Borde also said that Palmer's tone seemed at time to "verge on indictment", weakening the attempt to examine the issue in a well-rounded way and saying that a "more balanced" presentation may have been better, though said the book "effectively arraigns" French society.