in the Var, a religious procession to make the rain fall

To make drops fall, any method is good to try. A procession is organized on Sunday May 7 in Draguignan (Var), in the presence of the bishop, to “ask for rain” in a region severely affected by drought. “Drought emergency. We are going to take up the traditions of our elders and procession to ask Heaven to think of us”announces on its Facebook page the parish of Draguignan, a town of around 40,000 inhabitants located in the Var hinterland.

The faithful are therefore called to a “great procession of Provence” Sunday at 4.30 p.m., in the presence of the bishop of Fréjus-Toulon and some elected officials, as revealed by the regional daily Var Morning. The Church thus takes up the tradition of the Rogations, which consist of rituals (religious songs, intercessory prayers, processions) to promote the prosperity of the harvest. Sunday’s procession will end with “a blessing from the tractors and a country buffet”adds the parish.

Faced with a situation “exceptional” this year, the majority of the Var department was placed on enhanced drought alert, while the coastal municipalities of the department were placed on alert. Part of the neighboring Alpes-Maritimes department was also placed on heightened drought alert last Friday, the third of four alert levels, following a 76% rainfall deficit in March, according to the prefecture.