A fire at Saint-Sulpice church in Paris is believed to have been deliberate

A spate of thefts and vandalism in French churches has led to calls for the government to act.

Recent incidents have included a fire in Saint-Sulpice church in Paris, human excrement smeared on the wall in Notre-Dame-des-Enfants church in Nîmes, southern France, and vandalism of the organ at Saint-Denis basilica outside Paris, where all but three of France’s kings are buried.

Opposition politicians have said that the country’s Christian heritage is being threatened by petty criminals encouraged by militant secularism. Critics say the issue is being ignored in a society over which Catholicism has lost the hold it had for centuries.

Figures released by French police showed that 875 of France’s 42,258 churches were vandalised last year. Thefts were reported in a further 129. The