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2021, Debate and consultation on whether to keep or remove the statue of Napoleon in Rouen
Event
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On the occasion of the removal of the statue for restoration, and in the context of the worldwide movement to challenge statues linked to the history of colonization in public space and to demand the inclusivity of this space, the Socialist mayor of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, has expressed the wish to replace it with a statue of the feminist and anti-colonial activist Gisèle Halimi (1927-2020). He submitted the proposal to remove the Napoleon statue to a democratic consultation: in December 2021, Rouen residents were invited to vote online on the city's website, either for the return of the Napoleon statue to its original plinth, or for its removal and replacement by a female figure.
This proposal has sparked considerable controversy, with many on the right and extreme right taking a stand. The newspaper Le Figaro devoted several articles to the subject, and reported the opinion of Jonas Haddad, president of the Seine-Maritime Republicans: removing the statue would be tantamount to recognizing that the country is developing “a culture of repentance”. (Stéphane Kovacs, “À Rouen, les habitants invités à voter pour conserver ou non la statue de Napoléon”, Published 06/12/2021). Two petitions were posted on line to oppose the statue's removal and demand its return to its original location: the first, created by “L'Histoire à la Française”, called for “Defending our heritage”, and mocked: “As the Mayor of Rouen is so fond of female figures in the name of equality, why not put Joan of Arc, burned by the English in this very city on May 30, 1431, on it? Or how about Charlotte Corday? The Norman heroine who killed the revolutionary Marat! The petition received 21,758 signatures.
The second, created by the right-wing student union UNI (which also organized a demonstration in Rouen), believes that the left is “taking part in the deconstruction of our history”; it states: “At UNI, we are proud of the heritage left by Napoleon, who is one of the greatest figures in our history, and we demand the return of this equestrian statue to its original location. This monument has withstood two world wars, it will withstand socialism! The petition received 4,700 signatures and 900 comments of support. The controversy spread nationwide, and the debate over the fate of the statue of Napoleon became, for the right and extreme right, a symbol of the rise of “cancel culture” in France. Historian Thierry Lentz, director of the Fondation Napoléon and one of the few French historians to have taken a public stance on the “debunking” issue, declared in the columns of Le Figaro on September 26, 2021: “It's respect for our history that's at stake.
- has type | est de type
- contestation
- took place on or within | a eu lieu le ou dans l'intervalle de temps
- 2021
- was motivated by | le déplacement a été motivé par
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Black Lives Matter (BLM)
- resulted in | a eu pour résultat
- Only 3,502 votes were recorded on the Rouen town hall website; 68% of those who voted were in favor of the statue's return, and 64.2% for the installation of an explanatory element providing information about the monument.