They forgo the mass for Franco in Paris: "As in the worst years of violence in Spain, Catholicism is under attack"
The fascist association that organized the event has suspended it due to the controversy it has created.
ParisThe mass called in Paris to honor Francisco Franco and the founder of the Falange, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the dictator's death, will not take place. The organizing body, the Franco-Hispanic Circle (CFH), a far-right, pro-fascist association and admirer of the Falange, decided to cancel it due to "media pressure exerted on places of worship," according to a statement. The news had generated surprise and outrage in France, where most of the major newspapers had reported on the events. The Communist Party had even called for the event to be prevented. "This mass must be banned," the leader of the communists in Paris, Ian Brossat, had written in X.
In the statement, the CHF speaks of "repression" and refers to the Second Spanish Republic: "Repression continues to grow. As in the worst years of violence in Spain, Catholicism is under attack from all sides," the far-right organization states.
Controversy over Pétain's event
The memorial mass for Franco and Primo de Rivera, organized by the Franco-Hispanic Circle, is held every year around November 20th, but until now it had always been done discreetly. The current political climate in France has meant that this year the mass has reached the press: last Saturday, a mass was held in Verdun (Grand Est) in honor of Philippe Pétain, French head of state of the Vichy regime and collaborator with the Nazis during the occupation of France. The event stirred up considerable controversy—the mayor initially banned it, but the courts authorized it at the last minute—and an investigation was subsequently opened into the revisionist statements made by the organizer, who called Pétain "France's first resistance fighter." The controversy surrounding the mass honoring Pétain reportedly led the Franco-Hispanic Circle to cancel the mass for Franco and Primo de Rivera, according to the newspaper. ReleaseThe article quotes a source close to the organization's president, Hélène Grimaldi. "Given what happened in Verdun on Saturday, she certainly had reason to fear incidents," it states. In Verdun, citizens gathered outside the church where the mass was held in honor of Marshal Pétain to protest the event.
