Arson At Clères Church: Altar Cloth Set on Fire
An attempted arson attack was reported at the parish church in Clères, in the Seine-Maritime department of Normandy, authorities confirmed. The incident marks the third attack on a church in the region within only 15 days.
The incident occurred on the morning of 29 January 2026, when a fire was deliberately set. Tablecloths covering one of the altars in the place of worship were gathered together and set alight, causing smoke damage to the interior.
The local fire brigade was alerted and extinguished the flames before they could spread further, limiting structural damage but leaving parts of the church affected by soot and smoke.
This is the third ‘attack on a church’ deplored by the Archbishop of Rouen, Monsignor Lebrun, two weeks after the theft of consecrated hosts from the tabernacle of the chapel of Saint-Sever Church in Rouen. This week, the theft of precious metal cruets was also reported in the church of Orival.
These acts ‘worry me greatly,’ said Monsignor Lebrun. ‘Something is not right.’ According to him, ‘religious freedom is one of the fundamental freedoms.’ And today, he feels that some people are attacking this freedom. However, he does not want to go so far as to close churches when priests are not present: ‘As one parish priest told me, we cannot deprive the faithful of their rights.’
Police initiated an investigation into the incident, which was treated as an intentional act and added to ongoing inquiries into other offences at the same site. As of the latest reports, no arrest had been publicly announced in connection with the suspected arson.
Source: ACTU, Paris-Normandie
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