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Understand a Protestantism unique to France

Visits that throw light on the Huguenots' terrifying story – and its surprising consequences
Urban massacre. We show photocopies of engravings from a private collection.
Close-up

 

Few people realize that overwhelmingly Catholic France has a unique Protestant tradition. The belief that Man is saved by faith, not works, implied that the Church was not needed for salvation. Result: frightful civil wars in the 16th century and exodus in the 17th. Protestants returned officially only toward 1780.

 

Although they represent a mere 2% of today's population, they are important because:

  

 

 

     • They left a lasting impact on France and on the countries where they took refuge.

 

   • A French Protestant population organized the sole massive, collective rescue of Jews during World War 2.

 

   •  Lack of a buffer between Man and God left a tradition of rigor and responsability,  traits that give today's Protestants a civic influence that is far greater than their modest numbers might suggest. 

 

 

When the Sun King sent dragoons to force conversions (in 1684) many Protestants fled the kingdom in an exodus that accounts for most French names outside the country (including "New Rochelle" in Connecticut, which is named after La Rochelle, a Protestant stronghold).

 

Memory of persecution has lasted. It is the reason for which many French Protestants tend to side with the weak and is the backdrop for the most important Rescue of World War 2.

 

They are France's sole indigenous minority.

 

 

  • People who lived outside the ramparts (walk and visits)

 

Saint-Germain-des-Prés, site of "Little Geneva" and now an area celebrated for its bookstores and art galleries, is where our tour begins. We discover a segment of the 13th-century ramparts in a most surprising place, and explain how the town walls and Protestants connect – and how that connection is at the heart of Saint-Germain's uniqueness.

 

The new religion implied questioning and going directly to the Bible for answers, which meant knowing how to read. Those are reasons why in France many intellectuals adopted Protestantism and it is fitting that its main secular landmark in Paris should be a library.

       

       

      • Hidden, splendid and serene, the Protestant Library nestles behind a building and a courtyard. 

       
      "Dragonnade": the term still means soldiers' officially-sponsored persecution of civilians.

      Guide: charismatic pastor

      Host: Président of the Protestant Historical Society
      An oasis of tranquility where ...
      even portrait(s of war chiefs lean against books.

       

       

            • If received by special permission, we discover works that are part of France's past

       

       

      Visit with German Calvinists, 2010

       

       

      • A new Catholicism emerges


       

       

      Saint-Sulpice, Paris's most important monument from the 17th and 18th centuries, is rarely visited.

         

         

        • The Return – a walk in Europe's most famous cemetery

         

         

        Our guide (X) ignores Christ the shepherd, which is a largley Catholic symbol.

         

        An erudite and charismatic specialist of Paris, who is also a fervent Protestant, can take us through the Père Lachaise cemetery. This visit emphasized Protestant tombs – please CLICK.

         

         

         

        (The Père Lachaise – "Father Lachaise" – cemetery is named after the Sun King's confessor... who was influential in having Protestantism outlawed.)

         

        • The sole massive, collective rescue of victims of Nazi persecution – talk (or trip) about a Protestant contribution

         

         
        Hidden in isolated highlands...

         

        This photo of a Protestant church in the rescue region of the highlands of south-central France comes from the celebrated documentary, "Weapons of the spirit".

         

        Its tragic yet uplifting tale must be set in the Protestant context. Please CLICK...

         

         

        • We bring copies of the works of art that this page shows, and others

         

         

        • France's two historic minorities, Protestants and Jews...

         

        have points in common. They can be a subject for discussion.
        • Our usual guide has Protestant roots 

         

         

        Catherine Aubin's maternal family is French Protestant and includes several pastors. Her paternal family is Anglican.

         

         

         

        • Costs: Please CLICK

         

        ° We determine together a donation to the Protestant Library.

         

        ° The pastor shown guiding the cemetery visit is both a well-known specialist of Paris and an important collector of contemporary art. He may allow our groups to view his collection, in his home a few steps away. The fee depends on the context. Please ask us.

         

         

         

        Credits: 16th-century paintings / private collection; dragonnade / by Michel Loiret in T. Cahu, Le Roi Soleil, 1931 (this well-known illustrator of books on French history for children chose the most important episodes and we use his pictures whenever we can) ; visitors at Protestant library photos / member of the group; Saint-Sulpice / Catherine Aubin; other photos / Claude Abron

         

         

        Unexpected Paris guided tours