In their pocket, they had a specific certificate, established for the occasion: "visit to a religious establishment" and "participation in a demonstration on the public highway", she indicated.
But the police, posted at the four corners of the Place Saint-Sulpice, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, did not check them.
This Friday evening, in front of the closed church, hundreds of Catholics came to demand
“Give us back mass!”
.
To read also: "Mr. Prime Minister, hear the Catholics!"
The same morning on France Info, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin had assured that, "if it is a repeated act", he would not hesitate to "send police officers to verbalize believers in front of a church" .
To obtain
"this essential need which is the Eucharist"
and
"to have the right to prepare Christmas as it should"
several Catholic movements are planning, from this weekend, gatherings throughout France.
“Man does not eat only bread !, exclaims Alexander, fifty years old. The message sent by the state is that it is more essential to go and buy DIY tools than to prepare for salvation. It is contempt ”
.
At the microphone, Guillaume Bernard, teacher-researcher, castigates
"a state that is becoming tyrannical"
:
"Who are we going to make believe that we are more contaminating in the church than in a supermarket checkout?"
, he asks.
Antoine, one of the Parisian students behind the “Objectif messe” movement, ensures that everyone respects the barrier gestures.
“Our gathering was declared in the prefecture
,” he explains.
We were just banned from prayers and rosaries.
But not the speeches and songs ”
.
"At a time when the Catholics of this country are being targeted ..."
This Sunday, another group of young people will take over, calling for demonstrations at 5 p.m. in front of Saint-Sulpice.
In a few days, their petition
"for mass"
addressed to Emmanuel Macron has gathered nearly 105,000 signatures.
“At a time when the Catholics of this country are being targeted, we want to bury our dead, baptize our children, accompany our sick, surround our priests
, claim these young people from several dioceses in an open letter to the President of the Republic.
We refuse to let fear win.
We want to comfort each other, to find each other, together, to reassure ourselves and to face barbarism.
We want to sing, implore, hope, celebrate.
So please: leave Mass to us! ”
To read also: Henri de Beauregard: "The reaction of the Minister of the Interior is offensive for Catholics"
Two large gatherings had already taken place last Sunday in front of the cathedrals of Versailles and Nantes.
Since the re-containment, places of worship may remain open but celebrations with the public are prohibited, with the exception of funeral ceremonies, up to a limit of 30 people.
A measure confirmed on Saturday by the Council of State, which had been seized by Catholics, including the episcopate, protesting against this restriction.
Meeting Monday at the Ministry of the Interior.
Thursday, Gabriel Attal, government spokesman, announced that the heads of the various religions would be received
"from next Monday"
at the Interior Ministry to raise the issue of the suspension of religious ceremonies.
The Conference of Bishops of France, which calls for respect for the decision of the Council of State, expressed its
"firm hope to find a satisfactory protocol"
with the authorities.
"The government would do well to take religious authorities seriously, and not against the grain or with disdain," said Bishop Xavier Malle, Bishop of Gap, on Twitter.
Believers, by their seriousness, are not a problem but a key to the crisis ”
.
