And finally… having nun of it

Members of the eco-group Les Amis de la Bourges, which means friends of the village in English, were protesting the building in Saint-Pierre-de-Colombier because they claim the construction threatens several rare plant species.

The construction site was surrounded by a human chain made up of nuns from the Missionary Family of Notre Dame, who were trying to block the environmental group, and one of the sisters ended up tackling a protester who was running away with what appeared to be building materials.

“I didn’t expect that,” Sylvain Herenguel, a co-president of Les Amis de la Bourges, told public broadcaster France 3.

“I expected the nuns to be a little reasonable for the public order. The problem is that the religious people decided to resort to violence. I was attacked three times by five people, who snatched me, who wanted to throw me out there. They decided to protect the site with their actions and their bodies.”

The environmental group told Fox News Digital they want construction suspended until all environmental authorisations have been obtained.

Construction originally began in December 2018 with plans for a basilica to hold 3,500 people, but by June 2020 activists had set up a zone around the area, eventually leading to construction being halted by October of that year.

However, building work resumed by 2022 following additional environmental studies.