It was residents who raised the alarm around 3:30 p.m. when they saw thick smoke escaping from the church. Several mass Books had been placed on the altar and set on fire with candles and the altar cloth rolled into a ball. A smoke “acre” due to the plastic covering of the works according to the mayor of Chamalières-sur-Loire, Éric Valour, who quickly went to the site.
“We can’t put a name to this stupidityEric Valor is alarmed. They don’t respect anything. I think it was children who did this. There will be an investigation. They found a box of matches on the spot. On the candles, they may find prints. Afterwards, to find the fingerprints, the people who did this must be on file somewhere. We don’t have any illusions. But it is intolerable. For some time now, we have had a medieval garden, and regularly there are watering pipes that are cut. There are indications about the nature of the plants, and well that’s inappropriate. It’s damaging, it’s painful. So what will happen is that there are cameras which will be installed normally within two months. So I hope that it will play its role, that it will be enough of a deterrent. And then we won’t see that again. There is still a lack of education somewhere. This is pure stupidity.”
The municipality will file a complaint. A gendarmerie investigation has been opened.
Town hall of Chamalières-sur-Loire
Belgium
