Hundreds of French youth took to the streets of Paris Saturday evening for a dramatic torch-lit procession in honor of Saint Geneviève, a fifth century saint credited with saving the city from the invading armies of Attila the Hun.
Bearing ancient city crests and medieval-style torches, the procession – part homage to the ancient heroine, part political statement – crossed Paris’ wealthy 5th arrondissement flanked by several units of riot police.
Alternating between emblematic French tunes and booming chants of ”Saint Geneviève with us!”, the marchers – at times hued in pink from burning flares and fireworks – attracted considerable attention from curious onlookers, many leaving bistros and cafés along the route to investigate the commotion.
Climbing the narrow ”Montagne Sainte-Geneviève” leading towards the Panthéon, the visually impressive procession made up largely of teenagers and twenty-somethings reached its finish at the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont in the student quarter of the Sorbonne, where the remaining relics of the saint are interred, attracting visitors to this day.
Geneviève, patron saint of Paris and symbolic defender of the city occupies an important role in French history. Faced with the invading Hun armies of the fifth century, she implored the population of Paris to fast, pray and defend the city rather than flee. Her fame spread far and wide across the ancient world and after her death around 500 A.D, the procession of her relics became a tradition whenever God’s intercession was sought to protect the city. The custom lasted up until the French Revolution when the saint’s relics were burned in a mock-Catholic ceremony and thrown into the Seine in an attempt to humiliate the church and end the centuries-old popular devotion.
Only yards away from Paris’ iconic Panthéon, originally built to honor Geneviève, marchers heard speeches on the history of the saint and were encouraged to take inspiration from the courage of past heroes when confronted with what may seem like overwhelming odds today.
With President Macron enjoying a large parliamentary majority and the opposition in disarray, French patriots are confronted with a continuing influx of migrants, the Islamification and radicalization of large swathes of their territory and a decade long economic malaise which has taken a heavy toll on the middle classes. When the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean slowed late last year, President Macron and European allies quickly made preparations to fly migrants in directly from Africa, with those continuously arriving via porous land borders transported to small towns and villages across the country.
With the nearest elections not until 2019, it was not a case of giving up hope but rather a time to build a ground resistance to the globalist project, organizer Pierre Larti of Génération Identitaire explained to the Gateway Pundit.
The youth movement which now has multiple chapters across France is increasingly visible due to its direct actions, outreach and social media presence. He described the event as a success, bringing their message to the heart of the French capital.
”Paris is more than just another globalized city, more than a place of commerce, more than a museum for tourists. It is our home, with an identity, a soul, derived from our history. We are here to say publicly and in loud voice that we will defend Paris and all France.”
In a time of uncertainty for the country, the personality of Geneviève is seeing a revival, some 1,500 years after her death, and beyond traditionally Catholic circles.
”We’re honoring the heroes of our past”, Paul from Lille told the Gateway Pundit on a cold January night outside the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. ‘It’s part of our heritage and it’s worth fighting for.’’
Video: TV Patriotes
Photos: Paris Fierté, Damien Cowley
