French bishops appeal for calm amid riots, violence

October 20, 2026

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CWN Editor's Note: Leading French bishops appealed for calm amid France’s worst rioting in years.

“Serious disturbances have occurred: members of the security forces have been attacked and injured, shops have been looted, public facilities damaged, and buildings representing state institutions ransacked,” the president and two vice presidents of the episcopal conferences said in a statement. “These scenes of riots have plunged the country into shock, fear and desolation, raising multiple questions about the root causes of this crisis.”

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, Archbishop Vincent Jordy of Tours, and Bishop Benoît Bertrand of Pontoise added:

We would like to express our support and solidarity to all those who have suffered injuries, as well as to the many merchants who have been victims of this vandalism. We call on everyone not to let themselves be dragged into the spiral of this deadly violence: our country deserves better than this.

Together with all believers, we pray that these disturbances will end, that the just demands will be heard and taken into account, and that, through the practice of dialogue and respect for justice, peace may return.

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