Preaching in the Paris metro: between prohibition and call from God
An altercation between a passenger and a young evangelical Christian, who was preaching the word of God in the Paris metro, recently gave rise to an article on the Liberation site and questions the expression of faith in the public space in France. . For Pastor Tina Rali, the mother of the young evangelical Christian, it is simply a question of answering the call of the Lord.
At the beginning of January, the journalism service at the request of Liberation "CheckNews" answered a question posed by an Internet user following a video posted on social networks which showed an altercation between a young girl preaching the word of God in the Paris metro. and a passenger.
“Does this young evangelical have the right to preach in the Paris metro? », that was the question posed in this article.
The video, which was widely shared on Social networks, shows a young woman talking about Jesus in the metro before being attacked by a passenger who violently yells at her to stop. “What you are doing is forbidden. We're in a secular republic, you don't have to do that. Shut up, you don't have to do this! Madam, you have no right. I don't want to hear you! »
Here is the full clip shared by the girl's mother, Pastor Tina Rali, on her Instagram account:
CheckNews indicates that according to the internal regulations of the RATP the young girl does not have the right to preach in the metro. Indeed, according to article 15 of the decree of December 9, 1968 concerning the operation of the metropolitan rail network of the Autonomous Paris Transport Authority, "it is prohibited to distribute leaflets, to solicit the signature of petitions, to engaging in any propaganda, engaging in begging, disturbing the tranquility of travelers in any way whatsoever in trains and parts of stations to which access is authorized to the public”.
The RATP contacted by the media declared that "aggressive proselytism, the undue occupation of spaces or the disturbance of public order" are prohibited in the metro. LCI also reported in 2020 that these sermons are punishable by a fine "at least 60 euros".
Sharing God's love on the subway, a call
We spoke with Pastor Tina Rali who explained to us that she has been preaching every week in the subway for five years now. "It's going very well in reality, she adds, incidents like this happen quite rarely."
She declares having received from God this call to “sow” his Word in the Paris metro.
“This is what the Lord asked me to do and when God calls us we must go. I am faithful to his call. »
The pastor specifies that she never received a fine. “It's really done in benevolence, it's sharing the love of the Gospel. In the metro there is a lot of advertising, begging, violence and our presence is also useful. The RATP lets us do it in reality. I even happened to be defended by controllers, ”says Tina. "They see that it's benevolence."
Camille Westphal Perrier
