It's commonly done to access a lounge in a different terminal than your flight. For example, I had a long layover at JFK so I cleared security at T8 to use my priority pass at Bobby Van's before reclearing security at T4 for my Delta flight. You just have to tell security you know your flight is in a different terminal but you're entering their terminal to access a particular restaurant or lounge. I've never been refused entry.

Be that as it may, I have been refused entry to the security line at T1 when I wanted to use the AF lounge during a long layover (connecting DL-DL, I forget whether this was outbound D-I or on the return I-D).

Granted, this refusal was from the line guardian, not the TSA checker, and I'm willing to believe TSA would not have cared, had I managed to make my way past the dragon. But I didn't want to make a big deal out of it so I just gave up.

I am surprised nobody has offered the suggestion for the OP to carry a smaller rollaboard or better yet, check their bag, so that they have less to lug around through the airport :D

OP: One option would be to exit 2F as if you're terminating in Paris, take the landside pedestrian bridges across the highway to 2E-K, and then enter from landside as if you were originating in Paris. The downside to that route is that you would have to reclear security, but no one can stop you from doing it.

(And I'm pretty sure if your original plan had succeeded, you would have had to reclear security when you got off the train at M anyway, because the train is in the international zone but not the secure zone.)

But I agree that the passport control lines for the 2F->2E-L-M checkpoint are always a mess, so personally I'd just give up on them and try the landside route.

Even if train means security still better than m

When transiting at CDG, ALWAYS follow the signs, they will take you through the most convenient route to your departure gate. I don't see how an AF flight attendant would be in a position to recommend any transit path since they don't even walk around from one concourse to another, they are transported on a mini bus. In your case, following the directions would have sent you to 2E-L through the walkway between 2F and 2E-L and after clearing passport control, you could take the bus to 2M.

How is that relevant? US immigration rules are far different than the EU. The USA has no exit immigration at all.

This has nothing to do with France immigration and everything to do with CDG policy on which immigration/security line you're allowed to use. If you have a valid boarding pass, you should be allowed to enter any of the terminals, regardless of which one your departing flight is out of.

And your comment about exit immigration is irrelevant.

When you are dealing with passport control, and not just security screening, it isn't that simple.

Most convenient doesn't equal fastest. And why would an AF flight attendant be unqualified to give advice? They've been through CDG hundreds of times given AF is based there, and even if while as a crew member they ride a bus; they've likely flown as a non-rev or a regular passenger and have experience transiting the airport.

Somehow I don't recall connecting westbound at CDG to be that terrible. The last time I was there was two years ago, on a WAW-CDG-IAD trip. The flight from WAW parked at a gate in 2F; we followed the signed route and we reached EU passport exit control; we got through that in 90 seconds; there was basically no line. The onward aircraft for IAD was parked at something like K38. We enjoyed the big AF salon in the lower level of the K concourse (the one that looks like a Washington DC Metro station).

Not according to a discussion I had with an AF FA about this topic.

At LAX you can. Just has to a boarding pass for that day.

Wut?

The comment about exit immigration is spot on. The policy you dislike at CDG doesn't exist at USA airports because it is impossible for it to exist - the US has no exit immigration lines at all thus there isn't anything to enforce regarding which passport lines you can and cannot use.

This is true, and LAX twitter even confirmed it a few years ago (used to keep the screenshot). Unfortunately, I have run into problems with access based on whoever is working on the day, so I wouldn't count on it working without a bit of hassle at the least... Most recently I was made to go upstairs in TBIT rather than use the downstairs security 'for T4 only'.