elected officials of the city of Bourges were outraged after the degradation of the statue of Jacques Coeur historic character of the Fifteenth century.
Several elected officials have denounced Sunday the vandalism that has been the subject of the statue in Bourges, Jacques Coeur, the historical figure of French of the Fifteenth century, with the inscription “colonialism ?”. “To be outraged by such behaviour. I have a pain in my France. I strongly condemn these acts. Communitarianism is on the way”, wrote on Twitter Pascal White, mayor of Bourges (various right). The pedestal of the statue of Jacques Coeur has been tagged with red paint with the inscription “colonialism?”, according to a photo taken with the mayor, and published on the same social network.
the deputy of The Dear François Cormier-Bouligeon (LREM) has also expressed his outrage. “Beyond the ignorance grime, I see the spread, right down to the Berry, the heart of France, theses ultra-nationalist, separatist. We fight in the name of a Republic, the French humanist and universalist”, he wrote on Twitter.
Jacques Coeur (around 1400 – 1456), born in Bourges and died in Chios in Greece, has become in a few decades, the richest man in the kingdom of France and one of the most influential advisors of the king of France, Charles VII, becoming a Great silversmith, before falling in disgrace. It was one of the first merchants to engage in commercial relationships, followed with the countries of the Levant.
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The statue of general Faidherbe tagged in Lille
Sunday the pedestal of the statue of general Faidherbe in the centre of Lille, has also been tagged the words “colon” and “assassin” appear in red, following a demonstration to demand his withdrawal from the public space. Extending over the front, over a large part of the base, the graffiti covers the biographical elements inscribed at the foot of the statue. On the other side, the words “Senegal”, “Algeria” and “State” are written in white, territories in which general Faidherbe has participated in colonial campaigns in the Nineteenth century.
“The degradation (…) has been taken this day by the forces of law and order. The town council has been asked to proceed with the deletion of the entries. An investigation is underway”, said the prefecture of the North. Saturday afternoon, between 200 and 300 people had shown in the face of this statue, located not far from the prefecture, to demand the withdrawal of the public space “of this symbol of colonialism, violent and racist”.
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For its advocates, Louis Faidherbe (1818-1889), born in Lille and who ended his career as a socialist senator of the North, is primarily a military figure, which preserved the region from invasion by prussian forces in 1870. But he was involved in the colonization of several countries “in conditions that are extremely violent, while opposing the burning of villages, and has developed all sorts of racist theories”, had pleaded Saturday the group “Faidherbe must fall”.
