Far-left activists hinder entrance to church and disrupt mass
According to reports by local media and religious groups, 40 far-left activists gathered in front of the church of Saint Pierre de Colombier on Sunday, July 9, shouting anti-Christian slogans and hindering the faithful to attend the morning mass. They furthermore disturbed the mass by playing loud music and shouting in front of the door.
The "sit-in" blockage was organised and announced by far-left ecological activists after they had lost in court when trying to challenge the construction permit of the Notre Dame des Neiges Site. When opposing the building of the religious sites they had used the slogan "no concrete for fascicm". After losing in front of the court, they had called for further activism, including the "sit-in" blockage before the morning mass of the local church. During the blockage on July 9, the slogans of the group were, however, only remotely linked to environmental issues, and included pro-abortion slogans.
According to the religious community, the activist also hindered access to the entrance of the church. The faithful who wanted to attend mass had to use the side entrance to get inside. The religious community criticised the "extreme politicization of their fight".
Sources and images: Le Dauphine, pournotrevalleelabourges.over-blog.com, pournotrevalleelabourges.over-blog.com