Paris Was Burning

A lady known as Paris, romantic and charming
Has left her old companions and faded from view
Lonely men with lonely eyes are seeking her in vain
Her streets are where they were, but there's no sign of her
She has left the Seine
Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern, “The Last Time I Saw Paris.”

The past few months have been exciting ones in France, and indeed throughout Europe. This current chapter may be said to have begun at the end of July, when 50,000 to over 70,000 mostly Moroccan migrants crossed the border into the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta via swimming or the border facilities. This was set off by a previous ruling of the Spanish Supreme Court in June 2026, which ruled that migrants who had entered the country illegally could not be immediately sent back; this was of course exploited by criminal networks.

The scenes on the internet and television of hordes of foreigners overwhelming the Spanish town formed a perfect backdrop to the launch of the Save Europe Act (advocating Remigration) on August 1. The brainchild of Dutch activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek and Austrian activist Martin Sellner (both of whom are usually labeled as “far-Right” in the leftist European press), it had originally been proposed to the European Commission and quickly knocked down by that body. In response to Ceuta, youthful activists descended upon Ceuta to publicize the beleaguered enclave’s plight, and took to the streets to call for an end to immigrant-fueled crime, and for remigration. Demonstrations occurred in support all over Europe.

This initial excitement cast into stark relief the situation this writer described earlier in these pages. Most countries in Europe are governed by an establishment made up of Socialist and other leftist parties ruling in coalition with Conservative or Christian Democratic parties. The former know what they want, and so are constantly pushing these coalitions’ policies leftward; the latter have given up whatever doctrines they had, and are simply employment agencies—they happily move leftward if that is the price of a certified seat at the public feeding trough. They have presided over the flood of heavily Islamic immigration which has in turn sparked a tidal wave of crime and unrest. For the past decade or more they have been far more truculent with those that notice this than with actual criminals. Hence have emerged “Two Tier Policing” (light sentences for immigrants and others who murder, rape, and steal; throwing the book at those who complain about this) and “Lawfare” (harassing those who complain about it, seizing their bank accounts, denying them entrance to a given country, and the like). It did not escape ordinary Europeans’ notice that the abusers of life and limb did not receive anything like the police attention they themselves did for simply speaking or thinking in a way those in power dislike. Add to all of this the ongoing war in Ukraine.

As noted in response to all this, the so-called youthful “Far Right” offered the “Save Europe Initiative.” This began thusly:

We, the Peoples of Europe,

Motivated by a deep love and sense of responsibility for our nations, descendants and shared civilization, turn to the European Commission.

Recognizing that the native peoples of Europe, comprising the ethnic, cultural and linguistic communities of the Member States, possess an inalienable right to preserve their collective identity, heritage and way of life, as rooted in the principles of national sovereignty and self-determination;

It went on to cite the rapid replacement of native Europeans with immigrants, and called upon the Commission to protect the native born with remigration of the newcomers to their native lands. This call for remigration of the aliens to save Europe for the native-born has received a great deal of condemnation from all sorts of folk in Church and State. But its influence grows as the amount of immigrant-generated violence rises and the regimes direct increasing severity toward remigration’s popularizers.

Against this background of increasing strife accompanying growing Muslim and other immigrant numbers throughout Europe, and especially in France, the Eldest Daughter of the Church has suffered increasing violence against Catholic churches. In the last ten years, hundreds of churches have been set on fire or targeted in arson attacks in that country; on average, about two religious buildings burn down per month (roughly 24 per year). According to the Observatory of Religious Heritage (Observatoire du patrimoine religieux—OPR) a Christian building in France is destroyed or lost roughly every 15 days when combining arson, vandalism, structural collapses, and demolitions. Beyond incendiaries, French authorities document hundreds of anti-Christian acts and vandalisms each year.

With all of that going on, Pope Leo XIV came to France this last September 25. As is this writer, the Holy Father is a Franco-American; indeed, we are 12th cousins (something we share with three-quarters of the Province of Quebec and half of southern Louisiana). The next few days were packed. Arriving at Orly Airport, Leo met with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, and then went on to UNESCO headquarters. There he spoke about topics close to his heart: human dignity, peace, youth protection, and digital and AI ethics. Some 80,000 young Catholics (aged 17 to 35) filled the Stade de France in Saint-Denis for a massive prayer vigil and celebration. At Notre Dame the Pontiff prayed Vespers and venerated the relic of the Crown of Thorns.

Now, this visit had an extremely invigorating effect on the French Catholic Right, whose complex history and divisions I have written about elsewhere. It had already been announced that the Holy Father would offer Mass at the Place de la Concorde, where Louis XVI was martyred on January 21, 1793. In response, Louis, Duke of Anjou (to his followers, Louis XX), the Legitimist heir to the throne, issued a message to the people of France commemorating the papal visit. After meditating on the role of Catholicism in France and its discouragement by the State, he ended by saying “…I want to say that it is with great emotion that I will see the Holy Father celebrate Mass on the very spot where my ancestor Louis XVI was executed. On Saturday, France will share in the peace of a ceremony open to all. The square where we will gather will thus become a place of reconciliation for the French people. I am certain that this would have been my ancestor’s wish, concerned as he was for the unity and happiness of the French people. Today, fully embracing this Catholic heritage received from my forefathers, I am proud to participate in this event, which is imbued with Love and Hope. And wishing to be even more closely associated with this ceremony, I announce that on January 21st, I will reconsecrate my family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in order to reaffirm my commitment to this desire for peace and unity that so many of my ancestors shared for their country. May Saint Louis, model of just and virtuous kings, protect and save France!”

The Duke joined 800,000 people the following day at 3 p.m. He was himself overwhelmed, as he said on his Facebook page: “What an emotional moment! No fewer than 800,000 people followed the Pope’s Mass in a state of religious devotion, in the Place de la Concorde and on the Champs-Élysées, universal showcases of France. More than 5 million television viewers watched it. The media gave it an international dimension, as there is not a single country in the world where the event is not being shared, analyzed, commented on, and celebrated.

“It will take us days, perhaps months, to fully grasp its significance. I attended with fervor and reverence, thinking of all the French people gathered here. I also thought of the souls of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and Madame Élisabeth, who must have been rejoicing from above. To see the crowd of French people, far larger than any Parisian had ever seen during the Revolution, kneeling before the Sacrifice of Christ celebrated by the Pope himself: what greater tribute could there be to the vision of King Louis XVI! ‘Gentlemen, I die innocent of all the charges against me. I wish that my blood may cement the happiness of the French,’ were his last words.

“I was deeply moved listening to the Salve Regina sung by the Pope with the crowd, in front of the statue given by the last king of France, Charles X, to Notre-Dame Cathedral.

“What a blessing! Without a doubt, this event will be a landmark in the history of France and the world.”

The pope departed then for Lourdes, for prayer at the Grotto of Massabielle. He joined pilgrims in the torchlight Marian procession. As the Duke of Anjou had attended the pope in Paris, so his cousin and rival, the Orleanist claimant to the throne, the Count of Paris (to his followers, Jean IV), did so in Lourdes. In his description of his family’s time in Lourdes, he said, “When we look at the figures for Christian practice in France, it appears that there has been a downward trend for many years. But we also see that, in parallel, there is a renewal among catechumens, for example: almost 10,000 this year. As for young people, they are truly committed. Thus, we have both slightly fewer Christians, but more committed ones. France is rediscovering its history as a Christian country, all those elements of Christianity that have shaped our nation. Here in Lourdes, it’s quite clear: we see both devout Christians, but also many people who come to visit the sanctuary and who find their way back to faith.”

It is interesting to see that despite their dynastic differences, both Louis and Jean have similar messages about the importance of Catholicism to France; both campaigned against same-sex marriage—and both supported the Yellow Vests. Both heirs to the throne—and a great many other French Catholics besides—were overjoyed with the outpouring of youth and energy displayed.

The following day, Pope Leo made a trip to the border town of Metz. There he made a speech at the Institute Saint Benoit focusing on European unity, peace, and the legacy of Robert Schuman (whose beatification the Institute sponsors) before returning to Rome. Catholic France – right, left, Royalist, Republican, Traditionalist, Liberal – felt a tremendous shot in the arm by the events of the past few days. Nor were they the only ones. LifeSiteNews ran an article quoting a Muslim group fearfully predicting a Catholic revival: “On September 25 the group Miséricorde pour l’Humanité (“Mercy for Humanity”) published a message on X predicting that ‘France will become Catholic again’ amid what it described as a growing Catholic revival, strengthened by American Catholic influence. The group lamented that such a revival could undermine Islam’s spiritual influence in Western Europe.

“‘I am sad when I see all this excitement around Catholicism,’ the group wrote. ‘I have been predicting this for years.… In 45 years, France will become Catholic again and we will be left with nothing but our tears.’

“‘I am a good player, nevertheless the Catholics are much better organized as well as more determined than us Muslims and even than the Zionists,’ the post continued. ‘We must know how to recognize the strength of the Catholic international. American Catholics will now flood the world with their soft power at the expense of both Muslim spiritual hegemony in Western Europe and the Zionist lobby.’”

Neither side needed to be too elated or too fearful. For quite some time the high cost of living for the young—especially students—has been a growing source of annoyance to those affected. Those among that group—including the French—who have noticed how much money their governments spend on housing and supporting immigrants have tended to join the ranks of the Remigrationists. Those who don’t tend to go leftward. Either way, tension was building—and exploded in October. First in a small way, and then explosively starting on October 17, came riots and burnings of buildings—many of them historic, like the City Hall of Limoges. Muslims and other immigrants soon took over much of the violence from Antifa.

Many folk commented, and certainly the scenes of destruction and mayhem will be fresh in the minds of my readers. The Duke of Anjou commented on the events of October 17: “Images of desolation are coming out of major cities in France: I am deeply outraged by this.

“These scenes of violence are unbearable. They have overshadowed legitimate demands, prevented the majority from expressing themselves, and obscured the true causes of a deep social unrest. I offer my support and compassion to all the French people—protesters, residents, shopkeepers, police officers, firefighters, and gendarmes—who have had to endure this violence.

“The analysis cannot remain superficial. In reality, for many years now, we have observed that numerous social and popular movements are riddled with corruption and infiltrated by terrorist groups. Indeed, these gangs terrorize the population, terrorize shopkeepers, and terrorize law enforcement. These individuals have understood that our state is weak and that any show of force forces it to retreat.

“Violence is a tactic. On Saturday, the lack of police and gendarmerie personnel observed in many neighborhoods revealed a serious lack of foresight on the part of the authorities. Or, even worse, a complete rout by political leaders who refuse to ensure the safety of the French people.

“Between fear of confrontation and a desire to let the situation fester, nothing has been done, and hundreds of French citizens have been left to fend for themselves. Looting, violence against individuals, arson, and destruction of public property: all of this has been carried out with appalling impunity. The government must regain its authority before even worse situations arise. To achieve this, law enforcement and magistrates must be given the power to treat these individuals as terrorists.

“Exemplary and consistent measures must be applied to these groups to deter anyone from joining them. Demonstrations must be able to proceed without descending into chaos.

“Power is legitimized by the authority it demonstrates and the order it maintains.

“As we approach the 800th anniversary of the coronation of Saint Louis, I pray for France and dedicate my full attention to her.”

As of this writing, the unrest continues, as Macron’s regime shows itself as ineffective as the Legitimist Heir to the Throne implies. But they have been able to show strength in one area. A group of Remigrationists were going to have a conference in Paris on Halloween, and the government successfully forced its cancellation. On October 29, Martin Sellner, who was going to Paris despite the cancellation of the gathering, was refused entrance into the country, and is being held pending expulsion tomorrow. Here, at least, is one border the French government has some control over.

If France—or Europe—are to have a future, they cannot oppose a positive something—Islam—with nothing. Remigration—at the very least of the criminal elements—seems an obvious immediate answer. But in the longer run, she must look to the Faith that created them, and the institutions that made them great. Otherwise there will be nothing worth defending. That is true not only of the Mother Continent, but of all her daughter nations—Europe-beyond-the-Seas—as well.