Illustration in a church. - E. Frisullo / 20 Minutes

A few months of rest in the hope of appeasing the spirits. The construction of a large church in the Monts d'Ardèche regional park, which opposes a Catholic congregation to environmental activists, will be suspended until October in order to find a compromise, announced Thursday the prefecture of the department.

"During this period of suspension of work, a solution acceptable to all must be found between the competent State services, the Regional Natural Park, the Notre-Dame missionary family (Catholic congregation which carries the project, note) and the collective Friends of the Bourges (environmental opponents, note), "warned the prefecture in a statement.

Press release @ Prefet07: Project to build a church in Saint-Pierre de Colombier. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6O7HB4kDP7

- Prefect of Ardèche (@ Prefet07) June 18, 2020

Occupied and evacuated land

It adds that it will not tolerate "any illegal occupation" of the land concerned, after having environmental activists evacuated Monday by the police. Tuesday, the prefecture had organized a conciliation meeting between the different parties and offered to conduct a new expertise on the environmental impact of the project, in exchange for a suspension of work.

In the Monts d'Ardèche natural park, the construction of a church with 4,000 places for a congregation is breathtaking. Without anyone having been consulted, the State gave its blessing to artificialize the soil and destroy biodiversity.
😤🤭 https://t.co/vXvZXkV7Ik

- Mariem (@MariemKapil) May 14, 2020

These began a year ago in the village of Saint-Pierre-de-Colombier with the construction of a footbridge over the Bourges, a river inhabited by protected species. In addition to this footbridge, the project led by the monks provides for the construction of an imposing church of 3,500 places, a forecourt, housing and a parking lot.

The Monts d'Ardèche Regional Natural Park spoke out against this construction at the start of the year.

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