On 10 March, the Paris Prefecture of Police announced that the man suspected of vandalising several Paris churches had been arrested. According to reports, he disrupted a mass in the church of Saint-Vincent, insulting the priest and sacristan, then threw a statue on the ground in the church of Saint-Nicolas des Champs, before being apprehended near the church of Saint-François Xavier, where he also spat.
This arrest follows a series of acts of vandalism against other churches in the city in recent months. In February, the statue of Saint Anthony of Padua was thrown to the ground in the church of Saint-François Xavier, and in early March the window of the high altar in the church of Saint-Eustache was smashed. (OIDAC reported)
On 8 March, two other churches were also attacked. The suspect fits the description of the perpetrator of these acts, who used the same modus operandi on each occasion. On 9 March, the Paris City Council lodged a complaint following these numerous acts of malice against Catholic churches in the city. The deputy mayor also announced a meeting with the Paris diocese to discuss this serious and recurring security problem.