PARIS—More horrifying details emerged Wednesday about an attack on a French village church even as the country’s main religious leaders sent a message of unity and solidarity after meeting with President Francois Hollande in Paris.
Two attackers took five hostages Tuesday at the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in northwest France and slit the throat of the elderly priest saying morning Mass. One of three nuns at the Mass slipped out to raise the alarm and both attackers, one of them a local man, were then killed by police outside the church.
Emotions in France are still raw after the July 14 Bastille Day attack in Nice that killed 84 people—and only became more frazzled Tuesday when the church in Normandy was attacked. With the attack threat for the country ranked extremely high, France is working to protect 56 remaining summer events and may consider cancelling some, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Wednesday.
Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said 4,000 members of the Sentinel military force will patrol Paris, while 6,000 will patrol in the provinces. They are being bolstered by tens of thousands of police and reservists.
