Rioters in France desecrate statues of St. Joan of Arc during violent weekend

(LifeSiteNews) — An unidentified rioter veiled the head of a statue of St. Joan of Arc near the city center of Toulouse, appearing to mimic a hijab, along with a Palestinian flag, while video from Paris shows vandals climbing and putting political stickers on a statue of the patroness of France as violence raged across the country over the weekend.

Images posted across social media from Toulouse show an unidentified masked man, who appears to be African, standing on the bronze statue located on Place Jeanne d’Arc after placing a yellow vest on the saint’s head in the shape of a hijab and the Palestinian flag on the statue’s side. Separate video from Paris shows another unidentified reportedly foreign rioter being cheered on by a mob after climbing on and placing political stickers on the statue of the country’s patron saint in the Place des Pyramides.

🇫🇷⚡️- A Joan of Arc statue was veiled using a yellow vest by a youth of African descent in Toulouse. https://t.co/x8i2tEmRnn

— Rerum Novarum // Intel, Breaking News, and Alerts (@officialrnintel) October 17, 2026

BREAKING:

Foreign rioters are defiling French national and religious symbols.

For the second time in less than 3 years, they are targeting the statue of Saint Joan of Arc in Paris https://t.co/DR9CyTjJSM

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 17, 2026

Video from Saturday evening in Toulouse shows a courageous yet to be identified young man removing the yellow vest and flag from the statue.

🇫🇷⚡️- A young Frenchman climbed the Joan of Arc statue in Toulouse and removed the Palestinian flag and the makeshift yellow vest hijab. https://t.co/uhEIkMNbyv

— Rerum Novarum // Intel, Breaking News, and Alerts (@officialrnintel) October 17, 2026

This story is developing…