French paratroopers gathered in front of a statue of St Michael the Archangel in France to pay homage to their patron saint and call for the image of the Archangel not to be removed from public space.
Newsdesk (18/10/2022 15:40, Gaudium Press) The statue of St Michael the Archangel in the French town of Sables-d’Olonne continues to attract attention after the courts declared that it contravenes the country’s secularity law and must be removed from the public square.
Almost a year ago, in November 2021, the Free Thought Association, a French anti-clerical association, asked the courts to remove the image of Saint Michael the Archangel, which stands in the square of the town Sables-d’Olonne in western France.
Anticlerical initiative
The anticlericals denounced that the image of the Archangel offends the law of secularism that has been in force in the country since 1905 and forbids religious objects to occupy public spaces.
The statue, which was in the courtyard of an old Catholic school in the city, was placed in the square in front of the church of the same name three years ago.
The mayor and a large part of the population regret that the statue has to be removed and claim that it is also first and foremost a cultural and historical symbol of the locality.
However, the regional court of justice decreed the removal of the image and rejected the justification that it is of historical and cultural heritage.
Jean-Michel Bruel, président de l’Amicale Sablaise des Parachutistes et Opérations extérieures – ASP OPEX explique ce que représente saint Michel pour les paras @lessables pic.twitter.com/erlwmOvdS1
— Iris BRIDIER (@IrisBridier) October 15, 2022
Paratroopers gather to pay homage to St Michael the Archangel
On October 15th, the statue of St Michael placed at the centre of the controversy, was specially honoured by French paratroopers.
Former war combatants, standard-bearers and paratroopers from the western region and from all over France came to the town of Sables-d’Olonnes to pay homage to their patron saint: the Archangel Michael.
The president of the paratroopers’ association, Jean-Michel Bruel, declared, “Let us not forget that man needs symbols and ideals […] The statue of Saint Michael is part of our common heritage.”
March in honour of the Archangel
The paratroopers’ march began at Liberty Square, where there is a monument dedicated to the dead and the site of the city’s place of assembly, and then they went to the statue honouring St Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of the military.
In St Michael’s Square, in front of the church of the same name, the participants of the march gathered for the presentation of speeches in defence of the Archangel. Then, everyone sang to Saint Michael the hymn: “The Paratrooper’s Prayer“”.
La prière des parachutistes résonne aux Sables d’Olonne. #SaintMichel pic.twitter.com/kOesrS1NFi
— Boulevard Voltaire (@BVoltaire) October 15, 2022
The town hall remains determined to fight for the image to remain
The city mayor, Yannick Moreau, thanked the paratroopers and all those who decided to defend the figure of Saint Michael during the demonstration.
He said that the removal of the image is an attack on common sense, given that the church, the square and the neighbourhood bear St Michael’s name. In addition, he considers it an attack on the culture of France: “If the republic is secular, France is Christian,” he said.
The legal battle is likely to continue as the city hall has appealed to the State Council hoping that common sense will prevail and the attack on the city’s symbolic and cultural heritage will cease to exist, the authorities explained. (FM)
Compiled by Roberta MacEwan