Catholics gathered in Paris over the weekend to remember those killed during the brief government of the Paris Commune in the 19th century.
May 28th 2021 marked the 150th anniversary of its suppression. The commemorators were met with violence and brutality from far-left Antifa supporters.
In 1871, Paris saw the attempted establishment of a far-left, independent, socialist government called the Paris Commune. The Commune seized churches, closed schools and was responsible for the arrest and execution of hundreds of priests, nuns and monks.
The procession, led by Parisian bishop Denis Jachiet, took place on Saturday and comprised around 300 Roman Catholics marching peacefully. At first, the procession was received with some anti-clergy jeering, which the marchers brushed off and took in jest.
“Our procession was family-friendly, with children and the elderly.” said Hubert, a member of the Notre-Dame des Otages parish council.
But it wasn’t long before counter-demonstrators descended on the parade waving red flags and chanting things such as, “Paris, Paris, Antifa!” and, “Down, down, down with the Versaillais!”
The Versaillais were those who put an end to the rule by the Paris Commune.
According to eyewitnesses, those walking were rushed on Boulevard Ménilmontant by individuals who threw rubbish and objects such as glass bottles at them. Some of those in the procession fled from the march as things took a turn for the worse. Flags and parish banners were ripped from the hands of demonstrators, and two of the participants in their sixties were pushed on the floor. A third person sustained a head injury and was hospitalised.
