Less than a month ago, France was alight with rekindled faith as Pope Leo made his first papal visit to the country. This past weekend, France was literally burning, as nearly a month of already violent protests culminated in a “night of terror.” The juxtaposition of these two events is startling, to say the least.
At a human level, perhaps they are unrelated. Zoom out to the spiritual level, however, and I find it hard to believe it is just a coincidence. The worst political violence France has seen in decades, stoked largely by radical leftists and Islamists, has immediately followed the greatest display of Christian faith that France has seen in decades. As Michael Sobolik recently wrote in this publication, “At times, God uses the kingdoms of this earth to accomplish His purposes. The books of Daniel and Jeremiah in Scripture speak vividly of nations and leaders as…combatants in spiritual warfare.” To me, it seems clear that God is on the move in France – but Satan isn’t giving up without a fight. The French people, whether they realize it or not, are combatants in spiritual warfare.
Lest I be misunderstood, I am not claiming that the instigators of these violent protests are possessed by the devil or knowingly doing his work in any way. Nor am I accusing every individual involved in these protests of malicious intent. The unrest in France started with a single, initially peaceful high school protest against teacher shortages, and it quicky spread to other high schools and beyond, fueled by young people’s dissatisfaction with the state of their schools and the rising cost of living. No doubt some well-meaning protesters have seen their movement appropriated and turned into a larger, violent movement against their will. Peaceful protest is practically a French institution, and the right of assembly is a vital part of any open society.
But scripture says “you will know them by their fruits,” and overall, the fruits of these riots are clearly not godly ones. Rioters have burned down public buildings, looted shops, and desecrated symbols of the French Republic.
Contrast this picture with that of 800,000 people filling the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde – once the site of executions during the Reign of Terror – to attend Pope Leo’s outdoor Mass in Paris. In recent years, some have speculated that staunchly secular France is undergoing a Christian revival, with a significant uptick in baptisms and record numbers of young people joining the annual Chartres pilgrimage. The overwhelming response to Pope Leo’s visit seemed to confirm this theory, proving that the spark of Christian faith in France remains alive and is, perhaps, on the cusp of bursting into flame.
I don’t know if the instigators of these violent protests were directly spurred to action by the Pope’s visit and the spiritual fervor of their fellow Frenchmen (although I can’t imagine they were pleased). However, as Christians we do know that the devil is the “father of lies” and preys on human frailty to lure human beings to sin. What looks, on the human level, to be a purely social and political response to social and political problems can, at the same time, be a spiritual response to spiritual temptations. I suspect this is the case in France today.
The news is not all bad, though. Our faith also teaches us that God has already triumphed over evil through Christ’s death and resurrection. He at times allows evil to play out in the world, but his Providence is at work in all things, even in world politics and social crises. Christians are called to promote peace and justice through their human endeavors, but even more importantly, we are called to engage in spiritual warfare by praying for ourselves and our fellow human beings. If France is to emerge from this mess without disaster, there will certainly need to be political efforts, but we should not discount the power of spiritual fortitude and prayer.
France can help itself by responding to legitimate grievances about teacher shortages, deteriorating school conditions, and the high cost of living. Protesters who are committed to peaceful protest and are truly concerned about these issues will likely be satisfied with such a response.
However, France will also need to address the root causes of the violent riots. Increasingly, evidence has emerged that the primary forces driving the riots are far-left politicians and activists working in concert with Islamists. French journalist Nora Bussigny has argued that overall, these actors “share a precise project: the rejection of France’s democratic institutions, and a desire to destabilize those institutions and cause the Republic to topple.” Combating this threat will require courageous policy decisions, including a greater emphasis on assimilation in immigration policy and a willingness to clearly name and reject the ideologies fueling the violence.
Sound policy will not be enough to resolve this situation, though. Spiritual strength is required to win a spiritual battle. A pope’s visit changed the course of history once before, when Pope John Paul II’s visit to Poland reignited the faith of the Polish people, strengthened the Solidarity movement, and ultimately contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union. Could Pope Leo’s visit have such a dramatic impact on France’s future? Yes, if the French people allow the seeds of faith to take root in their hearts and fortify themselves for the spiritual battle that, whether they know it or not, is already upon them.
The good news is that, while most of us are in no position to influence French politics, all Christians can and should pray for the French people and, in so doing, come to their spiritual aid. We don’t know how this chapter of the human story ends or if the French people will ultimately choose the fire of burning cities over the fire of the Holy Spirit. However, to quote Sobolik again, we do know that “God is sovereign over all and working out His plans.” As we continue to strive for the seemingly hopeless cause of peace and justice using human means, let us not forget the ultimate ground of our hope: that God’s plan will always triumph in the grand narrative of human history.