F
or a long time, Evangelicals were associated with the image of a fervent America, outwardly expressive in its faith and culturally and religiously far removed from the predominantly Catholic Christianity practiced in France. Yet, for several decades, Evangelicals have become a distinctly French phenomenon. So much so that some public figures, such as international footballer Olivier Giroud, openly claim their conversion. The movement has also disrupted French Protestantism, historically composed of Lutherans and Reformed Christians. With a growing number of practicing believers and an increasing presence in Protestant representative bodies, Evangelicals have become an important part of the religious landscape in France.
While the first megachurches – massive, American-style churches with thousands of worshippers singing and praying as they listen to a pastor's fervent sermon – appeared in the early 2000s, the growth of this movement in France, which mostly takes place in smaller venues, goes back decades. "Its growth, which was initially linked to African immigration, has been ongoing for at least 30 years. The emergence of megachurches was an important step, but it is only the tip of the iceberg, making a broader phenomenon visible to the general public," said Valérie Duval-Poujol, an Evangelical theologian.
