Washington, D.C. Newsroom, 14 August, 2024 / 1:22 pm (ACI Africa).
The French government is urging “extreme vigilance” in the face of a “very high” terrorist threat to religious demonstrations and places of worship on the solemnity of the Assumption, one of the most holy days in the Catholic calendar.
Gérald Darmanin, the French minister of the interior, warned regional officials in a Tuesday message through the messenger app Telegram that the country is in a “very high level of terrorist threat.” He specified that “services, gatherings, processions, and pilgrimages” at sites traditionally associated with Marian devotion face particular danger, according to French news outlet BFMTV.
Darmanin informed regional prefects that “extreme vigilance must be maintained, particularly with regard to demonstrations and places of a religious nature.” He advised government officials to be in constant contact with religious sites and to deploy extra security forces to “more sensitive” locations.
According to BFMTV, the French minister of the interior instructed local officials to advise Christian leaders on preventative security measures to detect suspicious individuals or vehicles in front of places of worship.
The French government is also reportedly likely to deploy its anti-terrorist Opération Sentinelle forces at key pilgrimage sites, such as the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, where more than 30,000 faithful are expected to gather on the feast of the Assumption.
