It is 5:15 pm this Saturday, when the Catholic procession in homage to the 150 years of the “martyr of the rue Haxo” sets in motion, rue de la Roquette, in Paris, in the 11th arrondissement.
A “family” procession, made up of 312 people - lay people, priests, altar boys and scouts - preceded by a police car and accompanied by a sound truck.
During the Paris Commune, from March to May 1871, the Catholic Church had to deplore many deaths in its ranks, in particular Archbishop Darboy and ten clergymen killed on rue Haxo on May 26, 1871.
Recorded in the prefecture, the tribute march organized by the various parishes in the sector was to walk four kilometers to reach the Notre-Dame-des-Otages church, rue Haxo (20th arrondissement), where a prayer was to be held.
But nothing went as planned.
As can be seen from the videos circulating on the web this Sunday.
VIDEO.
The "family" procession of 312 people
attacked
From the start of the march, insults rain down: "Down with the skullcap!"
Death to the Versaillais!
»
, Chant groups seated on café terraces.
"Demonstrators in favor of the Commune, according to the security service of the diocese, identifiable by their flags and other signs of belonging to the far-left anarchist and antifa movement", who were cooling off after a demonstration.
Protesters thrown to the ground
A little further on, at the corner of rue de la Roquette and boulevard de Ménilmontant, the atmosphere deteriorates.
Counter-demonstrators start to follow the procession.
The pressure is growing.
Insults rained down, forcing several pilgrims to leave the procession.
Then come the physical attacks, as the group arrives at the edge of the rue des Panoyaux (20th).
“There, antifa groups were clearly waiting for us,” says Hubert, one of the organizers of the march.
According to him, flags and banners were torn off, the rear-view mirrors of the sound truck broken, several people, some of them elderly, were thrown to the ground with the cry of "Death to the fascists", the children were terrified.
“Even if we thought we had to endure a few jokes, we would never have thought of triggering such hatred, deplores Hubert.
We are neither politicians nor activists: it was simply a tribute to killed priests.
"
Confined in the church, they are exfiltrated by the police
A man will be evacuated urgently by the emergency services after being hit in the head with a bottle.
“It has been decades since a Christian parade was attacked in this way…”, notes the organizer.
While the tension is at its height and the security service totally overwhelmed, one of the two policemen who escort the march leaves the car alone, to intervene between the violent groups and the pilgrims: “He has just used his sparkling wine, specifies Hubert. This official was exceptionally courageous. "
At 6 p.m., the security company called the command room of the police headquarters to raise the alarm.
Reinforcements from the motorcycling unit, specializing in the repression of violent actions, arrive a few minutes later, and the procession can resume its journey.
But when the pilgrims arrive at the height of the Notre-Dame-de-la-Croix church, between 30 and 50 demonstrators again block their way, forcing the organization to confine the participants in the church and to interrupt the tribute.
They will stay there for an hour, before being exfiltrated, two by two, by the police.
The diocese announced this Sunday that a complaint against X would be filed, either by himself or in the name of the parish or the archbishop.