The scene, filmed by a smartphone, was widely shared on social networks: this Sunday, February 27, a man spat in the face of a priest who blessed the parishioners present on the forecourt of the Saint-Michel basilica, in Bordeaux.
In the video, first posted on Twitter by the “Infos Bordeaux” account, we see a man approach the priest, pronounce an inaudible sentence before spitting in his face. The scene takes place in the middle of street vendors installed in front of the basilica.
AT #Bordeauxa man spits on the priest in front of the Saint-Michel church while he was blessing the square: the multiplication of acts #christianophobesthis is also the France of #Macron ! pic.twitter.com/3yRWk86CBx
— Gilbert Collard (@GilbertCollard) February 28, 2022
This Monday, the diocese of Bordeaux confirmed the attack and wanted to provide some context. “Work is currently taking place on the arrow of Saint-Michel in Bordeaux and barriers prevent the installation of sellers in their usual place on Sunday, market day. They then settled on the forecourt of the Saint-Michel church, making it difficult to access the building, ”details a press release.
The priest won’t press charges
After a first intervention by the police this Sunday around 11 a.m., the street vendors have relocated to the forecourt. Once the mass was over, the priest then left the church “accompanied by an altar server to open the passage while blessing those present”. It was at this moment that the monk received the spit.
The victim did not wish to file a complaint, indicates the diocese, which “reaffirms its desire to cultivate a climate of peace and fraternity in this Saint-Michel district”.
The town hall of Bordeaux, for its part, indicated to Le Figaro that it condemned “strongly this unacceptable aggression”.