French government warns of very high terrorist threat in Catholic solemnity of the Assumption

The French government urges “extreme vigilance” in the face of a “very high” terrorist threat against religious demonstrations and places of worship on the Solemnity of the Assumption, one of the most important days in the Catholic calendar.

Gérald Darmanin, French Interior Minister, warned regional officials in a message Tuesday via the Telegram messaging app that the country is at a “very high level of terrorist threat.” He specified that “services, gatherings, processions and pilgrimages” in places traditionally associated with Marian devotion face particular danger, according to the French media outlet. BFMTV.

Darmanin informed the regional prefects that “extreme vigilance must be maintained, particularly with respect to demonstrations and places of a religious nature.” He advised government officials to be in constant contact with religious sites and to deploy additional security forces in “more sensitive” locations.

According BFMTVthe French Minister of the Interior instructed local officials to advise Christian leaders on preventive security measures to detect suspicious individuals or vehicles in front of places of worship.

The French government would also be deploying its Operation Sentinel anti-terrorist forces at key pilgrimage sites, such as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, where It is expected that more than 30,000 faithful meet on the Solemnity of the Assumption.

The Solemnity of the Assumption celebrates the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, body and soul, into heaven. In France, one of the oldest Catholic countries in the world, the Feast of the Assumption is a public holiday. It is usually marked by Masses and public processions.

Darmanin said the high alert is partly due to France’s continued international exposure as host of the 2024 Olympic Games and the upcoming Paralympic Games and “strong tensions internationally, particularly in the Middle East.”

Due to continuing terrorist threats, France is under your highest threat security position since March 24.

According to the humanitarian group Human Rights Without Frontiers Internationalin 2023 there were about 1,000 acts of terror and intimidation against Christians in France. Last Easter, the French government deployed 13,500 police officers and counterterrorism forces to thousands of Catholic and Protestant places of worship across the country, according to Radio France Internationale.

In July, a series of coordinated arson attacks temporarily halted train travel to Paris, affecting approximately 800,000 travelers just before the start of the Olympic Games. No one was injured in the attacks.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.