More than half a million people have joined what has now turned into a violent student-led movement in France. Rioters have looted hundreds of shops, defaced property, set buildings and cars on fire and injured more than 500 firefighters and law enforcers. About 1,800 people have been arrested, and one protester died of cardiac arrest.
A group of French teens singing rap songs praising Hitler, ISIS and Islamic terrorism desecrated a church in Vendee — just one of many horrific stories emerging in the chaos of secular France, where the majority claim to be non-religious.
And yet a revolution of a very different kind has been quietly and peacefully building momentum. Young people searching for meaning and Truth are finding true freedom and fulfillment in Jesus.
Some reports indicate new evangelical churches springing up every 1-2 weeks. In June, 100,000 Christians took to the streets in various French cities for this year’s March for Jesus, with 70,000 worshipping Him together in Paris and some 10,000 in Lyon.
“We must put Christ at the center of everything, He is the only one who brings us together,” said Pastor Gilbert Léonian, a coordinator of 2024’s March for Jesus, which saw 25,000 people gathered, with many people saved, baptized and healed. Jesus alone is the “response to the needs of the French.”
Converts to Catholicism have also increased dramatically. Over 21,386 converts were baptized this year, an increase of 20% over last year. About 50% of those converts came from families with no religious tradition, 8,152 were adolescents (ages 11-17) and 42% of the 13,234 adults, baptized fell within the ages of 18 and 25.
“The significant representation of the 18-25 age group points to a generation grappling with profound questions of identity, purpose, and belonging. Growing up in a rapidly changing and often unstable world, marked by economic uncertainties, societal fragmentation, and even anxiety about the climate, many young people seem to be seeking solid ground,” writes French apologist Matthieu Lavagna
Last month, during Pope Leo XIV’s visit, about 800,000 people filled the streets of Paris for an open-air Mass in the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde, with an additional 80,000 youth in Stade de France who turned out for a prayer vigil, and more than 150,000 in Lourdes.
Lord, please stop the riots and violence, and protect the people of France. Give them a hunger for You so strong every heart will seek You fervently, repent of their sin and find true freedom in Your love and grace. For those bound up in evil and unbelief, please break their chains and lift the veil from their eyes so they will see You as You truly are. Raise up leaders in France who love and follow You, whose family values, joy, peace, love and wisdom shine through the chaos and disorder to turn all eyes to You. For You are the only answer for France. Only You can bring the freedom, peace and fulfillment they desire. Thank You, Lord, for all these lives you have changed already. Please grow them in their faith, secure them in vibrant churches that are grounded in the Word and filled with love. Give them boldness to share Your good news with others in need of salvation. Empower Your church all across France and the world with love, faith and deep knowledge and understanding of Your Word. Make us bold to stand for You, even in the midst of persecution, to love our persecutors and to share Christ with those who so desperately need You. Make us lights in the midst of this present darkness. Move like never before, awakening every heart in France and beyond to Your love. Answer every prayer of faith in powerful ways, so that all who see will know only You could do that. Heal the sick, the blind, the lame. Break the chains of addictions, strongholds and demons. Set the captives free. Show Yourself strong in the eyes of all the world. May every knee bow and every tongue confess that You alone are God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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