President François Hollande will meet leaders of all French religious communities this morning in the hope of preventing a war of religion after two militants affiliated with Islamic State slashed the throat of an aged priest and critically wounded a male parishoner in a small town in Normandy.

“By attacking a priest, in a Catholic church, the objective was to pit French people against each other, to attack one religion to provoke a war of religions,” prime minister Manuel Valls said last night.

Hubert Wulfranc is the mayor of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, population 28,000, in the southern suburbs of Rouen, where the killings took place.

“Let us be the last to weep, and let us be the last ones standing against barbarity and in respect for all,” Mr Wulfranc said in front of the town hall, choking back sobs.

 

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