Prime Minister Jean Castex has asked two members of the French parliament, Isabelle Florennes and Ludovic Mendes, to investigate anti-religious incidents. They are expected to submit their final report in March, ahead of the French presidential election, after conducting hearings and field trips.
A 2019 survey found that 48% of the French population identified as Catholic, 4% as Muslim, and 1% as Jewish, with 34% describing themselves as having no religion. But other studies suggest the percentage of Muslims is higher.
France is sometimes described as the “eldest daughter of the Church” because the Frankish King Clovis I embraced Catholicism in the year 496.
Catholic churches are frequently targeted by vandals. The Paris-based Observatoire de la christianophobie (Observatory of Christianophobia) meticulously documents anti-Christian acts.
Last year witnessed two widely reported incidents concerning Catholics. In August 2021, the Catholic priest Father Olivier Maire was murdered in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, a commune in the Vendée department in western France.
In December 2021, Catholics taking part in a Marian procession in the western suburbs of Paris were subjected to threats.
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