The dispute has been raging between the nuns of the Notre Dame Missionary Family community and the members of the ecological collective Les Amis de la Bourges since images began circulating on social networks showing a nun attacking an activist.
Protesters went to the construction site of a religious complex in Saint-Pierre-de-Colombier in Ardèche on Monday to denounce its impact on the preservation of a rare plant. However, the latter were awaited by nuns who formed a human chain to defend the place. The situation quickly deteriorated on both sides.
Gigantic ! The good sister who dumps an environmentalist… a major spectacle in Ardèche where nuns defend the construction site of a future religious center against activists who are blocking it because of its environmental impact.
🎥 @ferro_nicolas
☝️non-regulatory approach pic.twitter.com/3wSyO7s3LO— Léo Chapuis (@leo_chapuis) October 16, 2023
In video clips recorded by a journalist from France 3 Régions, we can see how a woman from the religious community attacks an activist by running after him and throwing him to the ground. These confrontations reportedly lasted almost an hour.
“I was attacked three times by five people who grabbed me and wanted to throw me out. There they decided to protect the construction site with their actions and their bodies,” Sylvain Hérenguel, the association’s co-president, told local media.
Sectarian excesses
The controversial project is managed by the Missionary Family Community, a religious organization often denounced for its sectarian excesses.
According to France Bleu Drôme Ardèche, there are several testimonies indicating that certain members of the missionary family were separated from their families. Your telephone conversations and written correspondence are monitored.
In 2021, the Vatican sent an emissary to investigate the congregation for continuing construction despite a ban from the local bishop and Rome.
According to the Huffington Post