Sainte Rita
People protesting against the demolition of the Sainte Rita church in Paris stand in front of barriers blocking its access following their evacuation on 3 August Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images

A praying protester delivered a knocked out a passerby for "playing music" during the demonstration he was attended, it has been claimed. The incident in Paris was caught on camera and posted online on Friday, 19 August.

Footage shows a group of people who had gathered outside Sainte Rita's church in the French capital to demonstrate against its demolition.

Things quickly escalated after one member of the group leapt up as a man walked behind the group.

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The bearded protestor, who was dressed in a blue shirt and dark trousers, and was kneeling in the rear row threw a single punch at the passerby, knocking him to the ground.

The attacker could then be seen dragging the man onto the road, before the video cuts to an image with text asking people to join Les Soldats Du Christ (Soldiers of Christ), to prevent Christianity being "exterminated".

According to reports, no arrests have yet been made in connection with the incident and the victim's condition is not known.

The video was posted on YouTube by Les Soldats Du Christ.

In the video's caption, the uploader claimed the victim had interrupted the group of peace protestors by "playing loud music" on his mobile phone, prompting him to be "chastised for his rudeness" by the attacker, who was described as a "Soldier of Christ".

Sainte Rita was built in 1990 and is scheduled to be demolished in October, to make way for a housing development, the Daily Mirror reported. It has been the scene of a series of violent protests.

Earlier this month, a priest was dragged out of the church. Riot police swooped in to forcibly remove the congregation which had gathered to protest the church's impending closure. Pictures of the incident showed police dragging a priest through the floor. Another image showed a young boy being led from the place of worship.

Public prayers were banned in Paris in 2011 following protests by the far right, led by Marine Le Pen, over Muslims who were praying in city streets due to a lack of space in mosques.

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