Attacks on French Churches Skyrocket

In France, theft and vandalism in churches, and attacks on clergy and parishioners alike, have increased by 24% in the last year. There is a veritable war on Christianity in France, “the oldest daughter of the Church.” And assaults on churches elsewhere in Europe are also steeply on the rise. More on what can only be called a civilizational assault, being conducted against Christianity by Muslim migrants, can be found here: “Church thefts in France rise by 24% in two years as attacks on European places of worship mount,” by Thomas Brooke, Remix News, August 18, 2025:

Thefts from churches in France have risen dramatically, with official figures showing a 24 percent increase in just two years. In 2024, 780 incidents were recorded, ranging from stolen chalices and statues to collection money amid a growing vulnerability of Christian places of worship.

At Paris’s Notre-Dame d’Auteuil Church, Father Antoine Devienne explained how his parish has been targeted in the past. “There was an attempted theft of a crown given to the Virgin Mary a few years ago. Well, we took it away because we didn’t want to tempt bad intentions,” he told Europe 1. The church has since installed cameras and relies on staff patrols to maintain security, with doors double-locked after Mass.

Parishioners say they are unsettled by the situation. “I find it monstrous, unacceptable,” said Sophie, 83. Louis, 37, who came to pray with his fiancée, said he regretted finding the doors closed. “It’s still unfortunate to see that today in France, we are forced to close churches during the day when, before, all the churches were open. It was a place of prayer where we could go to reflect,” he said.

But the threat extends far beyond theft. Across Europe, churches have been vandalized, burned, and attacked, with clergy and worshippers sometimes coming under direct assault.

In Spain last Sunday, a 21-year-old Moroccan migrant was arrested after smashing a stained-glass window with a hammer and attempting to set fire to the Church of Santiago Apóstol in Albuñol. The Union of Islamic Communities of Andalusia condemned the attack, insisting that it was an isolated act that did not represent the wider Muslim community, but the trend is undeniable.

In Germany this week, a church in Mainz was vandalized, part of a pattern that Austrian activist Martin Sellner described as “happening every day.” He linked the trend to broader demographic change in Europe, warning that “with the boomers goes our demographic majority.”…

And while the indigenous people in Europe are not reproducing, the Muslim migrants exhibit fertility rates two to three times that of the indigenes. Their percentage of the population naturally increases year by year, with no hint that the gap between Muslim and non-Muslim fertility rates is being closed.

Throughout Europe, churches are closing because of a decline in attendance. Some are bought by Muslim groups and turned into mosques. Each year there are thousands of mosques opening throughout Europe. Meanwhile, the churches that do manage to keep their doors open are the objects of theft of church valuables, including chalices and statues, extending even to church collection boxes. Churches are vandalized, as well, with pews and altars destroyed and stained glass windows smashed in a clear display of violent hatred for Christianity.

More recently, in May this year, a group of around 10 young men stormed the Montfavet church in Avignon, shouting “Allahu Akbar” and threatening to burn the building down. The parish priest, Father Laurent Milan, said the situation turned chaotic. “One of them began running around. They gathered around the priest and started hurling insults. It was chaos. We struggled to get them out,” one parishioner told La Provence. According to Father Milan, the group hurled explicit insults targeting Christianity, shouting, “Jesus, we’re f***ing you,” and vowing to return to burn the church. Police were later forced to guard the church during Mass.

In more than a few cases, the government has had to position security guards at the entry to churches, so threatening has the atmosphere become, but there are simply not enough guards to adequately protect all the churches that are under threat of theft, vandalism, and arson, or their priests and parishioners who have been physically threatened, and sometimes been the object of murderous attack, as was Father Jacques Hamel, who was decapitated by Muslims loyal to ISIS while saying morning Mass at the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy.

Christianity is under assault in much of western Europe, with theft, vandalism, and arson of churches inexorably rising. Priests have been assaulted and murdered; parishioners scared off from attending church even when the churches have installed cameras and instituted security patrols. And this nightmare situation will continue as long as the Muslims who are responsible are not handed down severe prison systems, to be followed by deportation back to their countries of origin. That will require a Great Awakening among the ruling elites, who need to recognize the one-sided war that Muslims have been conducting against Christianity in Europe, with very little response by the governments that ought to be protecting the churches and those who conduct, or partake of, the services within. A civilizational war is now going on in Europe between Muslims and non-Muslims, Islam and Christianity. But for now, only one side is fighting.