French Catholics protest for end to lockdown on Mass Catholic protesters held scattered demonstrations around France on Sunday to demand that authorities relax virus lockdown measures to allow religious servicesPARIS -- With banners reading “Let us Pray” and “We Want Mass,” Catholic protesters held scattered demonstrations around France on Sunday to demand that authorities relax virus lockdown measures to allow religious services. Similar gatherings were reported or planned in the eastern city of Strasbourg, Bordeaux in the southwest, and outside the Saint-Louis Cathedral in Versailles. With more confirmed virus cases in than any other European country, predominantly Roman Catholic France banned Mass and other religious services for the month of November as part of nationwide partial lockdown measures aimed at reining in infections and relieving pressure on hospitals. One of France’s earliest virus clusters was traced to an evangelical religious gathering near Strasbourg in February. To date, France has reported 44,246 virus-related deaths, and today COVID-19 patients occupy 96% of the country's standard intensive care unit capacity.

Source: ABC News November 15, 2020 15:45 UTC