After a recent surge in vandalism within French churches, the Government there has announced they will be giving extra funds to ensure their security.
Two Roman Catholic churches in northern Paris were attacked by vandals last month, prompting a financial response.
Church vandalism continues to be a considerable problem in the UK. A church in Leicester saw its flagstones stolen in recent weeks; less than two years ago the Diocese saw a “spate” of attacks.
Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in vandalism in UK places of worship .
Interior Minister of France, Gérald Darmanin, was visiting northern Paris when he announced the additional funds would be spared.
He said: “My task is to protect places of worship; so we are augmenting the means to equip them, especially with video protection.
“Today, an envelope with €4 million is being offered to the Catholic Church if it wishes to accept this, independently of our law on church-state separation.”
According to the Vienna Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination, vandalism, robbery and profanation against Christians is most common in France.
However, in December it was announced that there had been a decrease in anti-Christian and anti-Semitic acts in 2021.