Toulouse: Living Nativity Disrupted by Activists; Journalist Assaulted
The 2019 edition of the living crèche in Toulouse had to be shortened after the intervention of counter-demonstrators in front of frightened children. Around fifty far-left demonstrators whistled at the choir, chanted blasphemous songs, and insulted participants before coming to blows with some, arguing "that this event was illegal in a secular state."
For the seventh consecutive year, the association Vivre Noël autrement organized the Living Christmas Crib in Place Saint-Georges in Toulouse. While one part stayed at the planned location, another delegation, composed of the Magi, Saint Joseph, the Virgin and Child Jesus, wandered for more than an hour in the center of Toulouse, from cathédrale Saint-Étienne to the Capitole. Volunteers distributed small leaflets with the times of the Christmas masses between two Advent carols.
It was after returning from the walking crèche that the participants were confronted by around fifty demonstrators from the far left. Several counter-demonstrators tried to reach the crèche. One of them, visibly live on social networks, confronted the association's volunteers. Evacuated for the first time, he returned to the scene. He snatched the camera from an Infos-Toulouse reporter and threw it on the ground. He was expelled a second time for this act and forced to join other excluded groups, including clearly identified members of the association Act Up, Union Antifasciste Toulousaine and other small groups of the extreme left.
Following these skirmishes, the living crèche was shortened by more than an hour, preventing three groups of choristers from appearing on stage and the children from posing in the crèche. Outraged, the participants were forced to leave the place, sometimes under the frightened tears of the children.
In a press release published on December 15th, Archbishop Monseigneur Le Gall condemned this interruption of the Living Crèche.
"This joyful manifestation during which Christmas carols are sung, Nativity scenes played by children and adults, helped by multiple animals, has no other purpose than to give depth to this celebration. As Archbishop of Toulouse, I regret that the simple reminder of the birth of Jesus and the values that it conveys (welcoming from abroad, announcement of Peace and sign of tenderness that we all need) is no longer respected in our country and even provokes acts of verbal and physical violence from those who set themselves up as defenders of freedom. I invite everyone to peacefully defend freedom of expression and to respect the history and traditions of our country. + Robert Le Gall."
Source: Infos-Toulouse