Three churches within the Archdiocese of Tours, France, have been vandalised, with the Blessed Sacrament desecrated. The churches targeted, located in Chambray-lès-Tours, Luynes and Tours, were looted with objects defaced, had sacred vessels damaged, as well as the tabernacle forced open before the desecration.

The Archdiocese of Tours said in a statement: “These painful and hurtful events for the Catholic community unfortunately reveal how our society is permeated by forms of violence, lack of culture and worrying lack of civility.

“Masses of reparation will be celebrated in the desecrated churches.”

Mayor of Chambray-lès-Tours Michel Lamy said the incident evoked “deep indignation in me and are simply unacceptable”.

He said: “Nothing can justify attacking a place of worship, our heritage, and what it represents for many Chambray residents.

“I strongly condemn this desecration and offer my full support to the parish community, to Fr François Xavier Olayemy Oniossou and to all those who are deeply shocked by these facts.

“In Chambray-lès-Tours as elsewhere, respect for places of worship, whatever one's convictions, is a fundamental value.

The attacks come as the Church in France continues to suffer arson and vandalism to its buildings. Four churches were previously targeted within the Archdiocese of Tours in November 2024.

A study published in December 2025 by the Observatory of Religious Heritage stated that France loses one religious building each week, with two-thirds of fires showing signs of deliberate arson.

That month, the church of St Marie-Madeleine in the Diocese of Marseille was attacked. The side of the church in Marseille had been vandalised, with graffiti reading: "The only church that illuminates is the one that burns".

A May 2026 report by the French Interior Ministry stated that anti-Christian acts have been increasing since 2010.

The ministry said: “A total of 843 anti-Christian incidents were recorded in 2025, an increase of 9 per cent on 2024, driven by the rise in attacks on individuals.”

The majority of anti-Christian incidents targeted the Catholic Church. In 2025, there were 817 anti-Catholic incidents compared to 22 anti-Protestant and 44 anti-Orthodox incidents.

87 per cent of reported anti-religious acts involved attacks on property, with attacks on individuals also rising. Physical assaults targeting Christians doubled in 2025, rising to 23 from 11 in 2024. The report stated that the physical attacks “consist mainly of physical attacks on leaders of places of worship (14 incidents), whose number quadrupled in a single year".

A November 2024 report by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe found almost 2,500 instances of hate crimes against Christians in Europe, with around 1,000 of them taking place in France. Ninety per cent of the attacks in France were committed against churches or cemeteries.