Overview
- The November 15 service went ahead after the Nancy administrative court overturned the Verdun mayor’s ban, authorizing a mass requested by the Association for Defending the Memory of Marshal Pétain.
- Roughly 20 people attended inside while about 100 protested outside under police supervision, and a far-right activist sang the Vichy-era chant “Maréchal, nous voilà”.
- ADMP president Jacques Boncompain told reporters that Pétain was “the first resistant of France” and claimed he saved hundreds of thousands of Jews, statements flagged by authorities as revisionist.
- The Verdun prosecutor opened an inquiry for public contestation of crimes against humanity and for holding a political meeting in a place of worship, with priest Gautier Luquin cited for provoking resistance to the execution of the laws.
- The Meuse prefect notified the prosecutor and said the process could lead to seeking dissolution of the ADMP, as national figures from government and the RN condemned the episode.