A man arrested for degradation of statues Wednesday in the basilica of Saint-Denis, which houses the necropolis of the kings of France, will be tried on February 24, the Bobigny prosecutor's office said on Sunday.
The suspect had entered the basilica-cathedral on Wednesday January 5, degrading several objects,
a police source told
Figaro , confirming information from
Valeurs Actuelles
.
“In the middle of the morning, a man broke windows and threw three statues on the ground in the Saint-Denis cathedral basilica
,” said Father Jean-Christophe Helbecque, rector of the basilica.
The latter announced that he had lodged a complaint in a press release.
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The suspect was arrested shortly after the incident.
For the diocese,
“it is very likely the isolated act of a fragile person”
.
"We regret that some have taken advantage of this news item to make it what it is not
," he commented.
“No word or gesture of threat was uttered.
No injuries are to be deplored ”,
insisted the diocese in its press release, specifying that the three degraded plaster statues, which date from the 19th century,
“ were fractured while falling ”
and
“ do not represent any heritage value ”.