Outside Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey, second only to Notre Dame in Paris, Marat faced Dean Grenier, who stood blocking his way, and said bluntly, "If you insist on obstructing me in the execution of my duties, I can only call in the Service Team."
The Service Team was an enforcement body under the Public Notary Investigation Bureau, with the authority to search, seize property, and even make temporary arrests.
A priest beside Dean Grenier suddenly shouted to the gathered crowd, "Trespassing into the abbey is a blasphemy against God! We absolutely cannot stand by and watch them do this!"
The several hundred citizens who had remained silent until then immediately stirred into commotion.
The French were deeply rooted in their religious beliefs, and the words of high-ranking Clerics were no different from divine oracles. At once, dozens of elderly people stepped forward and surrounded Marat's group, desperately making the sign of the cross and demanding that they leave.
Marat frowned and glanced at the mere eleven Service Team members, then turned to his assistant and said quietly, "Malo, go back and call everyone from the bureau..."
Just then, a burst of whistles sounded in the distance. Sixty or seventy Police officers came jogging over in formation, separating all the passersby.
The Sheriff at their head clasped his hands behind his back and called out, "City Hall has just lost important financial documents nearby. Anyone who has found them, hand them over to me immediately."
Everyone froze where they stood.
The Sheriff shot Marat a glance, then waved to the Police beside him. "To prevent spies from stealing the documents, search everyone's bags here at once."
"Yes, sir!"
The old men surrounding Marat were the first to be pulled aside, and several Police officers politely asked them to open their belongings.
Seeing this,