Three Statues Defaced and Basilica Vandalised by a Man in Saint-Denis
Case information
Incident date
Country
France
Place
Saint-Denis
Categories
Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
Desecration
Vandalism (all)
Vandalism of Church
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
Censorship or Removal of Public Christian Symbols
Place of Incident
Church
Bias Indicators
Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
Yes
Response of Local Authorities
Investigated
Symbolic image; not a photograph of the reported incident.Image credit: Unsplash
A man came to the basilica of Saint-Denis and used an iron bar to damage three statues on the 5th of January. The rector of the cathedral-basilica said he had filed a complaint on the same day and the vandal was quickly arrested. The 30-year-old man caused several material damages. At first, the man came to the Basilica and was refused access to a space behind the altar, prohibited to the public. He returned a little later, armed with an iron bar, with which he attacked the display cases in which religious objects (crucifixes, statuettes and other trinkets) were exhibited. Then, the man threw three plaster statues to the ground.