A French nun was seen tackling an environmental protester outside the construction of a new religious center in what quickly became a viral online video.
On Saturday, members of the eco-group Les Amis de la Bourges, which is translated to friends of the village, attempted to protest the building of a new religious complex in Saint-Pierre-de-Colombier.
The construction was surrounded by a group of nuns from the Missionary Family of Notre-Dame forming a human chain around the area to stop the activists.
Altercations reportedly began in the early morning, leading to one of the sisters tackling a protester who was running with what appeared to be building materials to the ground while other protesters stomped on the piping materials.
“I didn’t expect that,” co-president of the association for the future of the Bourges valley Sylvain Hérenguel told public broadcast channel France 3. “I expected the nuns to be a little reasonable for the public order. The problem is that the religious people decided to resort to violence. I was attacked three times by five people, who snatched me, who wanted to throw me out there. They decided to protect the site with their actions and their bodies.”
Following the confrontation, the nuns resumed a more peaceful stance, singing while blocking the surrounding protesters.
Approximately ten police officers were also in the area.
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According to the environmentalist group, the construction threatens several rare plant species that have not been properly protected.
“There is reseda of jackfruit noted by the French Biodiversity Office. And it is not in the environmental study on which the Prefect relied to restart the construction site. They do not have authorization to destroy the habitats of protected species,” Hérenguel added.
Construction on the project originally began in December 2018 with plans to construct a basilica that could hold 3,500 people.
Since then, construction has faced significant backlash from environmental organizations including several demonstrations halting the process.
By June 2020, activists installed a Zone to Defend (ZAD) around the area, eventually leading to construction being halted by October of that year.
However, construction resumed by 2022 following additional environmental studies on the area.
The Missionary Family of Notre-Dame and the Les Amis de la Bourges didn’t immediately respond for comment.
