“Let there be no ambiguity, this is not a victimless crime.”

Parishioners were dismayed and disgusted this week when they learned that someone had spray-painted swastika symbols on the cross and nearby oratory.

At the Church of Notre Dames des Enfants in Nimes, the building was smeared with human excrement, the main altar and tabernacle were looted and consecrated hosts were stolen and dumped.

Vandalising of five metre steel cross sparks debate over whether Christian symbols should be placed on public landmarks.