During the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the cathedral of Boulogne-sur-Mer, in Pas-de-Calais, was the scene of a real ransacking, we learned from the local police.
A man “in the midst of a fit of madness” was arrested on the spot.
The facts took place in the early evening, while the religious building was closed to the public.
It was witnesses who alerted the local police station, which quickly sent staff to the scene.
When they entered the cathedral, the police came across "a man covered in blood and in the midst of a fit of madness".
“A damning and unspeakable act”
The photos published on Twitter by the departmental directorate of public security in Pas-de-Calais show the extent of the damage.
Overturned benches, broken statues on the ground, overturned panels, ransacked altar, deteriorated objects of worship… “A damning and unspeakable act”, was indignant on Facebook the mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Frédéric Cuvillier.
The suspect, of American nationality according to our colleagues from
La Voix du Nord
, was immediately placed in police custody.
At this time, we do not know the reasons for his action.
According to the elected official, "this act of vandalism is, a priori, not of a protest order but seems to be the fruit of a gesture of insanity".
An investigation has been opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor's office.
Teenage boy dies in car crash fleeing police checkpoint
Man rescued after car caught fire
Miscellaneous facts
Hauts-de-France
Cathedral
Vandalism
Police
Investigation