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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
National
Alison Hird

Farmers in drought-stricken southwest France invoke Saint-Gaudérique for rain

Drought France Perpignan Le Monde
Penitents carry a statue of Saint-Gauderique, Patron Saint of Farmers, into the shallow waters of the Têt river in Perpignan on March 18, 2023, during a ceremony to ask for rain. AFP - RAYMOND ROIG

Faced with the worst droughts since 1959, farmers in the Catalan region of southwest France turned to their patron Saint-Gaudérique on Saturday to help bring on the rains, carrying the saint's relics through the streets of Perpignan.

Some 1,000 people – clergy, farmers, religious brotherhoods and locals – took part in Saturday's procession, reviving an old Catholic ritual for the first time in 150 years.

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