The Saint-Joseph church located in a sensitive district of Creil (60)has become the scene of recurring tensions between drug traffickers and the parish community. According to information revealed by Valeurs Actuelles, local delinquents, who control a neighboring deal point, exercise increasing pressure on priests, seminarians and faithful attending church.
Clerics and parishioners insecure
The religious residing at the presbytery report regular threats, insults and intimidation. One of them even saw his vehicle undergo an attempted fire. Several reports were sent to the police, accompanied by official complaints filed by priests with the diocese of Beauvais.
Faced with the seriousness of the facts, the parishioners also alerted the Creil town hall. The police forces, reinforced by video surveillanceare working together to try to restore order in this sector.
Threats to burn down the church
This Sunday, December 8, the situation crossed a new threshold. Disturbances were reported near the church, threatening priests and worshipers who asked them to leave the premises. They would have uttered threats to burn the churchadding that, according to them, “the religious character of the place had no importance in their eyes since they are Muslims”.
Intervening on the spot, the police arrested two individuals unable to provide identification. A third man, hooded and spotted near the presbytery, was also arrested.
Two individuals sentenced
Presented in immediate appearance, Ahmed B., 21 anset Saidou K., 19 answere convicted. According to Valeurs Actuelles, Ahmed B., already known to the courts, received four months in prison under an electronic braceletaccompanied by a ban on residence in Creil for three years. Saidou K., also a repeat offender, was sentenced to eight months in prisonto which are added four months for revocation of a probationary suspension, with a ban on appearing on the Plateau de Creil for three years.
Despite the condemnations and the joint efforts of the police, the situation remains tense around the Saint-Joseph church. Between daily pressures and acts of intimidation, the parish community lives in apprehension.
Also read: Churches burned or desecrated: the discreet but worrying increase in anti-Christian acts in France
