Overview
- Surveillance footage shows a shirtless man enter Saint-Étienne in Mulhouse on Sunday and, over about five minutes, seize an altar cross, throw it to the floor, spill a vase on the altar and break open three confessional doors before fleeing with a second person.
- A photo supplied by the parish and the videos have been given to investigators and the priest said he would file a complaint at the Mulhouse police station to open a formal probe.
- Police in Mulhouse arrested a 37-year-old on Monday and placed him in custody while investigators work to confirm his involvement and assess his mental state, the local prosecutor said.
- No theft was reported at the church, a detail cited by local media and the priest as suggesting the act targeted Christian symbols rather than valuables.
- The episode is being reported against a wider rise in attacks on Christian sites, with the Interior Ministry recording 843 anti‑Christian acts in 2025, a 9% increase that officials say raises broader security and social concerns.