If someone is minded to do something, then there is very little to stop them.

(This reminds me of the recent story of the passenger at Stansted who took a shuttle to a satellite terminal despite not being told which gate their flight was departing from, only to find themselves stuck in a remote satellite with no means of getting back to the main airport and facing the very real prospect of missing their flight: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/budge...n-nowhere.html).

The OP CAN continue on as a transfer passenger and use the lounge, until they then decide that they actually want to be an arriving passenger - at which stage, they may have to kick up a fuss to be taken landside.

A person CAN always do what they want. it just takes a bit of chutzpah to brazen it out.

If the OP really wants to see Paris, then they SHOULD follow the exit signs, and leave the lounge until they return for their flight.

They can try to have it all, but it may not be so straightforward for them. The person to whom they appeal for assistance CAN also decide that, as they still plan to take the flight for which they have already shown their boarding pass, that they should not be allowed to leave the secure airside area; or that there is not enough time for something as unnecessary as sightseeing.