Published on 12:00 AM, December 21, 2015

Priest sorry for comment on Bataclan attack

A French priest apologised yesterday for a homily in which he said the Eagles of Death Metal concert that was attacked by jihadists in Paris last month was "inspired by Satan".

"I regret fuelling a controversy about some musical genres. It was completely inappropriate and indecent," Francois Schneider told his parishioners in the town of Wissembach in northeastern France, according to his diocese.

Shortly after Islamic State jihadists attacked Paris on November 13, Schneider criticised the band playing at the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people were killed.

A total of 130 people died on the night of horror in the French capital, where a team of nine known attackers targeted the national stadium, restaurants and bars as well as the Bataclan.

Members of Schneider's congregation complained to his diocese.

"Sometimes we are overwhelmed when faced with the diversity and strangeness of some artistic expressions," the priest said.