Around 40 Christian tombs were desecrated in a cemetery in eastern France on Monday, with headstones uprooted or broken, the interior ministry said in a statement.

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Police discovered the damage in a cemetery in the town of Labry. The ministry said it was the fifth time a cemetery had been desecrated in the area this year.

"These unacceptable acts require a firm response," the ministry statement said.

According to the local prosecutor, three minors were arrested on Tuesday morning.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve condemned the desecration “in the strongest possible terms" while French Prime Minister Manuel Valls also expressed his indignation at the attack on Twitter.

The mayor of Labry, Luc Ritz, expressed his “disgust” and "disbelief" in comments to France’s Europe 1 Radio.

Labry is about 30 kms (19 miles) west of the historic town of Metz in northeastern France.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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