<rant>
As if CDG were not bad enough with ceilings that fall and kill people, terminal 1 being over a mile away from the other terminals, and the backwards idea of placing the security check right before the gates, it seems that the French security folks try to do everything in their power to make you miss your flight if they don't like you. I've never had trouble flying on Air France (strikes aside), but when I went through the security check at the gates for one of the heathen American carriers, it was another story entirely.
I was recently leaving from CDG on my way home from a two-week trip. I was travelling with nothing but a single carry-on -- a carry-on that had previously made it through two US, one German, and two French airports without incident. I stayed in the lounge (which is before security) until about 45 minutes before my flight's departure, then headed to the gate. At the checkpoint they found (heaven forbid!) a small salad fork in my carry-on and confiscated it. To my knowledge, forks aren't banned by either the TSA or EU aviation security regulations, so I said so, and politely asked to see the list of their banned items they were using. They scoffed at the question and said that they couldn't show me their "special regulations for US-bound flights from the EU."
Subsequently, on the jetway, they pulled me over again and demanded to open and search the entire contents of my bag. They gave me trouble over the water bottles that I had brought in empty and refilled in the restroom after the checkpoint. They gave me trouble over my inhaler. They confiscated a pair of safety scissors with a rounded 4 cm blade (also allowed by the TSA). THEN they found my last few remaining tablespoons of laundry detergent. After some issues with the language barrier, they confiscated it, claiming that they were only following the TSA's ban on "liquids, gels, and powders" for US-bound flights. I objected and pointed out that the line is "liquids, gels, and aerosols," and the TSA has no such ban on powders (particularly not soap!) They disagreed, and called over a K9 unit to check the offending Tide Ultra2 for bomb residue, or perhaps drugs, to take up even more time. The dog merely turned its head away, despite several attempts to pique its interest, so they finally let me go.
At this point, I had 5 people and a dog crowded around me, with only one guy still at the checkpoint. The best quote was from a supervisor who had come over to help translate "laundry detergent." She said, "You should feel reassured. The French have very good security compared to the US, where they don't catch these things." I didn't feel reassured by security personnel who could be distracted from their real jobs for long periods of time by forks, 0.75oz inhalers, and safety scissors. However, I thought it best not to say anything, lest they stop me a third time and require a full body cavity search.
In the mean time, the airline, which had already scanned my boarding pass when I entered the jetway, believed everyone was on board and closed the cabin for an early departure. Fortunately, I found a GA and knocked on the door while she radioed to the crew, and they opened the door again and let me on. Good thing, too, because the next flight was at a different gate, so I probably would have had to clear security all over again!
I never thought I'd say this, but compared to the French, the TSA is pretty quick and reasonable when it comes to moving people through the checkpoints!
</rant>