Recently, thieves targeted churches in Seine-Saint-Denis or Vienne.
In 2019, 220 thefts were listed in places of worship by the authorities, compared to 348 in 2007.
Investigators from the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property are helping local services find the perpetrators of these thefts.
For this, they can rely on the meticulous inventory work carried out in each department by the curators of antiquities and works of art.
The theft occurred in the middle of the weekend, in the night from Saturday to Sunday. In early January, criminals climbed the wall behind the Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois church in Romainville, Seine-Saint-Denis. They then tore off the mesh protecting the window of the toilets, broke a window before entering the religious building. Inside, they searched every nook and cranny and forced the door of the sacristy. They seized the money deposited by the faithful which was in the trunks, but also on two chalices, three ciboriums, a cup, a crucifix placed on a base in noble metal and golden vermeil, as well as sound equipment . At the same time, similar events took place in another church, in Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis). Two investigations have been opened, announced the Minister of the Interior,Gerald Darmanin.
Seine-Saint-Denis is not the only department affected. For the past few weeks, around fifteen thefts have been observed in churches in Vienne and neighboring departments. Nevertheless, in fifteen years, thefts committed in these places of worship have clearly decreased. The authorities recorded 220 in 2019 (88 more than in 2020, a year marked by confinement) against 348 in 2007. a more or less important area, several departments or regions, and which are at the origin of the increases that can be observed. Whereas fifteen or twenty years ago, it was more about organized teams,” explains Colonel Didier Berger, head of the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property.
“There is not always a camera or human surveillance”
This atypical service, dependent on the judicial police but commanded since 2003 by a gendarmerie officer, has around thirty investigators, police and gendarmes, responsible for helping local services trace these thieves and find their loot. .
“These are places that are open to the public, with fairly long opening hours.
There is not always a camera or human surveillance during the day, ”explains Colonel Didier Berger.
In addition, the disappearance of an object is sometimes noted several days, even several weeks after the flight.
“This reduces the chances of finding testimonies or evidence that allow the identification of a perpetrator.
A regular inventory makes it possible to detect a theft and then file a complaint.
»
Investigators can rely on the meticulous inventory work carried out in each department, since 1908, by the curators of antiquities and works of art.
Indeed, "the law of December 9, 1905 relating to the separation of Churches and the State makes fall into the public domain the churches of the Catholic worship and the objects which are there, when they are prior to it", we explains the curator of antiquities and works of art for Seine-Maritime.
It specifies that “objects or buildings manufactured, acquired or built after 1905 may have different statuses depending on their sponsor”.
Objects inventoried
This rigorous inventory allows the municipalities to have "the complete list of the objects which are their property so that they can insure them and mitigate all risks of vandalism or theft, as for any other object", continues this specialist. It can be "altar-type wooden furniture, paintings, statuary, liturgical ornaments, sacred vessels", she lists. These objects, some of which are classified or registered as historical monuments, are measured, photographed and then listed in a file. “These are elements, underlines the curator, which will make it easier to find them among others if one day they are stolen and found. »
The photos of the stolen objects then feed the databases of the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Goods, which contain the most recent information on stolen works of art in the world.
In particular, it makes it possible to check whether an object found is among those already registered.
Last March, the gendarmes of Meaux (Seine-et-Marne) got their hands on 80 objects stolen from 26 French churches in Ile-de-France, Normandy and Aquitaine.
“Thefts occur regularly in churches in France, it is rare that we recover the objects”, confided to the site actu.fr Guillaume de Lisle, vicar general of the diocese of Meaux.
Resold on the Internet or to collectors
Some of these objects had been stolen from the church of Cocherel in Seine-et-Marne in November 2020. Very quickly, an elected official had found traces of some of them on an online sales site. The author of the thefts was arrested three days later, in Hauts-de-Seine. “It was about a man who worked in the IT sector and who, out of idleness and opportunity, visited open churches and took advantage of it to steal,” recalls Colonel Didier Berger. The investigation revealed that he resold these objects on the Internet as well as to two second-hand dealers.
To fight against thefts in churches, the Minister of the Interior announced an increase in “means which make it possible to equip places of worship in particular with video protection”.
“Today, it is an envelope of 4 million euros which is given and in particular to the Catholic Church if it wishes, and independently of the law of separation of the Church and the State”, adds he.
This envelope is financed by the General Secretariat of the Interministerial Committee for the Prevention of Delinquency and Radicalization.
For his part, Colonel Didier Berger recommends the use of a chemical marking technology, namely a liquid leaving a unique and lasting identifier, the presence of which is invisible except under an ultraviolet black light.
Society
Seine-Saint-Denis: Gérald Darmanin announces investigations for vandalism in two churches
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Christmas: Thefts, damage, attacks... Churches under close surveillance
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