The father of Émile, the two-and-a-half-year-old boy who disappeared in Haut-Vernet on July 8, is a member of the traditionalist organization Chrétienté Solidarité. Its founder Bernard Antony describes him as “nice and intelligent”.
The representatives of the traditional Catholic movement Chrétienté Solidarité have decided to offer full support to the family of little Émile, who died in Haut-Vernet on July 8th.
“It reminds me of the Jeanne-Marie Kegelin affair. I have 17 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren, so Émile’s disappearance binds me, it’s cruel,” Bernard Antony, historical founder of Chrétienté Solidarité, tells BFM DICI.
The 2.5-year-old boy’s father is a member of this traditionalist organization while his grandfather is the treasurer. “He’s an old companion. But whether this little one is Catholic or not, whether he is close to our ideas or not, it doesn’t matter, it affects us all,” admits Bernard Antony.
“Very good people”
Chrétienté Solidarité, a movement founded in 1982, claims to defend “the threatened values of Christian civilization and French identity” and “fight against Islamist totalitarianism, misanthropic reversals, totalitarian globalism and all extreme lefts”.
Bernard Antony, representative of the French extreme right, former MEP and member of the Front National until 2008, knows little Émile’s paternal family well.
“His grandfather is an educated man. You would see his library… He is someone who has a spirit, discreet as his son can be,” the politician describes.
And to continue: “His father is an engineer. He is a very nice boy who I have met several times. He is calm, easy-going and constantly trying to improve. He and his father are very good people.”
“You are not part of a cult”
When he’s not sparing with compliments when discussing little Émile’s family, Bernard Antony becomes much more scathing when he traces the media treatment of the case.
“I have read and seen disgusting things. How can we arrive at such a level of dehumanization?” asked the victim after the publication of numerous caricatures of the missing little boy in the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
Nor is Bernard Antony kind to those who suspect Emile’s family of being fundamentalists. “They are Christians, period. The Latin Mass is the traditional Mass that gives real meaning to the words. They are not part of a sect,” Bernard Antony rephrases.
An opinion shared by Yann Baly, President of Chrétienté Solidarité. “Émile’s parents are charming people. They decided to face this ordeal by holding on to their faith,” he explains.
“Our mission is to defend Christians around the world, especially in Lebanon. Emile’s father is also very involved in this wish. For my part, I can say nothing about the cruel drama that little Emile’s family is going through, other than to imagine and empathize with the anguish and suffering they are going through,” concludes Yann Baly.