An adult and two children were injured when anti-fascist and communist groups attacked a Catholic procession in the French capital. The French Catholic Church organized a march in memory of Archbishop Georges Darboy, a martyr who died in the massacre on Haxo Street during the Paris Commune in 1871, but the participants could not peacefully complete the four-kilometer journey, the V4NA news agency reported.
About three hundred people took part in the commemoration, where the faithful would have commemorated the martyrs of the Catholic Church with a four-kilometer procession, who were killed by left-wing radicals on May 28, 1871, because of their religious beliefs, reports the V4NA news agency.
When the procession started towards the Notre-Dame des Otages church, the local communists began to abuse the Catholics.
Later, they stood in the way of the church procession and shouted: "Death to the fascists!"
"I felt as if we were in Paris one hundred and fifty years ago. It was surreal," said the organizer of the memorial march.
After that, the participants in the march were attacked by an anti-fascist group of about twenty people, who, according to the organizer, wanted to fight. "They tore the banners out of our hands, threw and trampled on the flag of French remembrance, and hit the priests. In addition, they also cut bins, bottles and fence elements to us," he said.
Two children suffered minor injuries in the attack, and one person was hospitalized with head injuries.
The security people sent to the scene by the diocese and the Order of Malta tried to stop the attackers with the help of a police officer - unsuccessfully. "Atrocities don't usually happen during Catholic processions, which is probably why the prefecture sent only one policeman to secure the procession," parish priest Camille Kozak explained the situation.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote in his Sunday evening Twitter message that Christians have the right to practice their faith in peace, and he is with French Catholics in his thoughts.
The procession was interrupted by the attack, and the participating Catholics fled to the nearby Notre-Dame de la Croix church. "While praying, we waited for the police to take us out," said one of the participants in the march.
author: hirado.hu
Photo: Young people dressed in red tops, holding a red flag supporting communism, and covering their faces with masks attacked Catholics commemorating the martyred archbishop during the 1871 Paris Commune in Paris, May 30, 2021 (Source: Le Figaro)
