A lawyer for the pro-Yellow Vest priest, filmed singing anti-Macron songs following mass, has told RT he will petition the Pope if French prosecutors bring charges against the cleric for insulting the office of the president.

Father Michel, a popular priest in the department of Eure in Normandy was filmed leading dozens of Yellow Vest supporters in a post-service chorus of “Macorn, moron” and “we’re coming to get you.” Shared thousands of times, the clip prompted angry local officials to lodge a complaint against the priest. If charges are filed, he could face legal action for talking politics in a place of worship and for failing to acknowledge the most sacred of French ideals — the separation of church and state.

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However, Father Michel’s lawyer, Philippe de Veulle, said that the investigation amounted to an “abuse of power” by the state and that his client did nothing wrong. De Veulle maintained that worshipers had broken into song because of the priest’s support for the Yellow Vest movement and that priests were “free to sing” in the church after the ceremony had ended.

“You should notice in the [Yellow Vest] protest that you have a lot of priests coming,” de Veulle noted. He added he was ready to write an official letter to Pope Francis about the issue if authorities pressed charges.

We have to wait [and see] what is going to happen with French justice. I think if there is something it will be a big problem.

It’s not the first time Michel has made headlines over his support for the Yellow Vests. In 2018, he draped a statue of the baby Jesus in a yellow vest and has planted crosses at a roundabout to commemorate demonstrators who have died during the protests.

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