Cast in Stone

How to cite this page Comment citer cette page

Items

• 2020, Gathering to demand the removal of the Faidherbe statue
  A rally against the statue's presence in the public space was organized by the Faidherbe doit tomber collective. Between 150 and 200 people attended, attracting identitarian militants who stood in front of the statue and threatened the demonstrators, while the regional and national press covered the event.
• 2020, Redvers Buller statue placed under review by Exeter City Council
• 2020, Removal of black boy pub sign in Retford
• 2020, Removal of black man's head pub sign in Ashbourne
• 2020, Removal of the A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) sculpture
• 2020, Removal of the Robert Milligan statue
• 2020, In-depth restoration of the Marchand monument
  The monument was covered by a tarpaulin for several weeks. Local residents come to ask if it will be removed. Some say they are attached to the African place names on the monument.
• 2020, Retaliation attack on the grave of Scipio Africanus
  The attacker smashed the headstone of Africanus's grave and left a message: 'Put Colston's statue back or things will really heat up'.
• 2020, Retaliation attack on the statue of Alfred Fagon
  The statue of Fagon was covered in a suspected corrosive substance.
• 2020, Removal of Napoleon statue for restoration
  A crack in one of the horse's hind legs threatened the statue's stability. The Mairie decided to remove it for restoration. It was taken for restoration to the Fondation de Coubertin in Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse. The restoration took two years and cost almost 300,000 euros.
• 2020, Retrait de la statue de Voltaire
  The statue was removed and returned by the city to its owner, the Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP). It was restored by COARC at the expense of the City of Paris.
• 2020, SEMA supports BLM protests and calls Robert Clive a 'robber-baron'
  On 10 June 2020, SEMA Shropshire Ethnic Minority Alliance, now renamed Shropshire Equality Means Action, posted the following on its Facebook page: 'Several updates for you from SEMA. There is a lot going on, so we will be as brief as possible. This is to point you in the direction of upcoming and ongoing initiatives in Shropshire and Telford Wrekin. We will get to MP Danny K at the end. First some basics for those getting involved. First thing is the BLM Protest. There have been two so far that you may have caught. Ad hoc demonstrations took place in Telford on the 4th and Shrewsbury on the 6th. These were fantastic events that SEMA was not involved in. Many connections were made between different activists, and from there a collective has started up to support one another's mutual aims. The next event is on the 14th, in Telford. 12.30pm in the Telford Town Centre. SEMA supports the students who have organised that event. We encourage people to attend and to follow this instructions on the event page. Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/550401825615605 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blmshrewsbury/ On the 19th is the massive event in Birmingham for which we will contribute several local actions. Your creative involvement is welcome. These pop-up actions and group spaces will revolve around key themes and ongoing focuses for SEMA and for anti-racism work in this part of the country. Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1334259970103186 This also involves lots of people who are not under the SEMA umbrella, but who we are working alongside and in support of. Such actions/projects involve: 1. Video and podcast interviews made by local young activists, detailing aspects of the current struggle, profiling leaders from the generations before, and linking generations and communities together to work for a better West Midlands. 2. Creating anti-racism curricula and working with national organisations doing the same in order to reevaluate and update the (lack of) education that has been the story so far in these counties and much of the country. 3. Promoting and supporting non-affiliated efforts already underway, such as Refugee Week (15-21 June) and Windrush Day (22 June) and the organisations and individuals that head those up. 4. Develop SEMA into an organisation. Our inaugural event was in February. It is now time to move forward and into the vision for which we were formed. This new organisation is emerging out of the conversations and efforts above. Now for Mr. Kawczynski. The Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham has spoken on the "huge pluses" and "tremendous source for good" of the Empire. MP Kawczynski's comments are an insulting cover up of the truth of the oppression and plunder done in Empire's name; its basic function and meaning for those it ruled over in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania is one of robbery, misery and murder. We are beyond tired of the likes of MP Kawczynski and other enthusiasts for murder and oppression. Our official response is on its way, including recommendations for reading material in DK's "blow by blow account" being undertaken on the life and times of the robber-baron, Robert Clive. Your sincerely, the ad hoc organising committee of the Shropshire Ethnic Minority Alliance'
• 2020, Shropshire Council discusses petitions to remove the statue of Clive
  In a virtual meeting held on 16 July 2020, the Shropshire Council discussed the following under Public Questions: "A petition, bearing over 1000 signatures has been received from Jake Thompson, requesting a debate under the Council’s Petition Scheme. The petition requests that the Council: Remove Clive of India statue from Shrewsbury town centre The petitioner will be allowed 5 minutes to outline their case, after which there may be a debate of up to a maximum of 15 minutes. Minutes: Public Questions The Speaker advised that six public questions had been received from Mr Parton, Mr Femor, Mr Streetly, Mr Tate, Mr Holmes-Brown on behalf of Shropshire Ethnic Minority Alliance and Ms Dolphin. All questions were read aloud on the questioners’ behalf by the Director of Legal and Democratic Services and received answers from the respective Portfolio Holders. Mr Femor, Mr Tate and Mr Streetly were advised that written answers would be provided. It was noted that a copy of the questions and answers would be included with the formal record of the meeting. Petitions The Speaker advised that a petition bearing more than 1,000 signatures to remove the Clive of India Statue from Shrewsbury Town Centre had been received from Mr Jake Thomson requesting a debate. Mr Thomson did not provide a written submission Members debated the petition and made the following points: · The Black Lives Matter debate welcomed; · It was important to understand other’s experiences and injustices; · Clive was now recognised a corrupt mercenary; · A better explanation of the history of Clive was required; and · It was not possible to rewrite history but it was important to be able to understand it. The Portfolio Holder for Assets, Economic Growth and Regeneration responded by thanking the petitioner for the work he had undertaken in presenting the petition. He continued that it was a divisive debate but all agreed that there was no place for racism. To remove the statue was not as simple as it would seem. It was classified as a grade 2 listed building and its removal or destruction would require approval from Historic England. He acknowledged that the colonial past of Britain was a reality and should not be forgotten but used to inform the future. Museum staff had been requested to provide a better interpretation of the statue and locate this appropriately. RESOLVED: That no action be taken.
• 2020, Shropshire Council votes to retain Clive statue
  The Council received a petition with 1,000 signatures asking for the removal of the statue of Robert Clive in Shrewsbury Market Square. Having debated the proposal, the council decided to take no action.
• 2020, Statue of Jan Smuts is graffitied
  The statue of Smuts was graffitied with the BLM (Black Lives Matter) tag.
• 2020, Statue of John Witherspoon graffitied
  The words "BLM" (Black Lives Matter) and "slave-owner" were graffitied on the plinth of the statue, in protest of Witherspoon's slave-ownership.
• 2020, Statue of Queen Victoria graffitied
  The memorial was sprayed extensively with graffiti. Some of the various tags included "SLAVE-OWNER", "MURDERER", "JUSTICE", "BLM", "EDUCATE" and "SL*G".
• 2020, Statue of Robert Dundas graffitied
  The words "SON OF SLAVER + COLONIALIST PROFITEER", "GEORGE FLOYD" and "BLM" were graffitied on the plinth of the statue, as well as the pedestal.
• 2020, Stroud District Council press release - 'We’re listening to BAME residents to tackle racism'
  The text of the press release ran as follows: Stroud District Council has committed to work even harder to tackle racism and listen closely to BAME residents, to build an inclusive and cohesive district where everyone feels safe. Council Leader Doina Cornell told members of the Strategy and Resources Committee that everyone must stand together to tackle racism, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. All four political group leaders issued a statement on Monday 8th June, condemning racism and reaffirming the council’s commitment to promoting equality and tackling discrimination. At the committee meeting on Thursday 18th June, councillors listened to residents’ concerns on racism and answered their questions. She has worked on with Green group leader Martin Whiteside and others including Liberal Democrat leader Ken Tucker, to develop some specific actions which the council is acting on: Do all we can as a council to ensure we are an inclusive and anti-racist organisation with zero tolerance for racism and discrimination. We commit to reviewing existing anti-racist and anti-discrimination policies and practices, including training for members and staff and take action to strengthen these as required. Work with everyone in our community, and especially our local BAME residents to amplify BAME voices in our district and to hear from them where best to focus efforts. Consult with the community on any street and building names, statues and architectural features that may be considered offensive and if actions need to be taken. And we must consult on how best to educate ourselves about our history, the local legacy of slavery, and the local historical contribution of BAME people to our district. During this current administration, councillors have continued to receive equality and diversity training, and mandatory racism awareness training for all councillors will be undertaken shortly. SDC staff will also undergo the same training, building on existing mandatory equality and diversity training. Watch the meeting, including the whole Leader’s speech and public questions at www.stroud.gov.uk/sr180620
• 2020, The British Museum removes a terracotta bust of its slave-owner founder, Hans Sloane, to a secure cabinet
  Explaining the British Museum's actions, the director, Hartwig Fischer, said: "We have pushed him off the pedestal. We must not hide anything. Healing is knowledge...Dedication to truthfulness when it comes to history is absolutely crucial, with the aim to rewrite our shared, complicated and, at times, very painful history." “The case dedicated to Hans Sloane and his relationship to slavery is a very important step in this. We have pushed him off the pedestal where nobody looked at him, and placed him in the limelight. “The British Museum has done a lot of work – accelerated and enlarged its work on its own history, the history of empire, the history of colonialism, and also of slavery. These are subjects which need to be addressed, and to be addressed properly. We need to understand our own history.”
• 2020, the hands of the Robert Geffrye statue are painted red
  The following message, painted in red, was also left behind at the gatepost of the Museum of the Home: 'The blood on Geffrye’s hands is the blood of our ancestors'
• 2020, The statue of Henry Vassall-Fox is protested in an act of guerilla memorialisation
  A board with the words "I owned 401 slaves" was placed on the statue of Vassal-Fox, whose hands and face were painted red. Several hand prints and the number 401 were left on the plinth of the statue.
• 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHIEC)
  The WHO's PHEIC declaration for COVID-19 lasts from January 30th 2020 to May 5th 2023.
• 2020, UK Culture Secretary writes to the Museum of the Home in support of retaining the Robert Geffrye statue
• 2020, UK politicians respond to the toppling of the Edward Colston statue
• 2020, UK Prime Minister delivers speech on Black Lives Matter
  The Prime Minister's speech read as follows: The death of George Floyd took place thousands of miles away – in another country, under another jurisdiction – and yet we simply cannot ignore the depth of emotion that has been triggered by that spectacle, of a black man losing his life at the hands of the police. In this country and around the world his dying words – I can’t breathe – have awakened an anger and a widespread and incontrovertible, undeniable feeling of injustice, a feeling that people from black and minority ethnic groups do face discrimination: in education, in employment, in the application of the criminal law. And we who lead and who govern simply can’t ignore those feelings because in too many cases, I am afraid, they will be founded on a cold reality. Yes, I am proud to lead the most ethnically diverse government in the history of this country, with two of the four great offices of state held by a man and a woman of Indian origin; and yes, I am proud of the work I began to lead more than ten years ago to recruit and promote more young black people, in the police and other walks of life. This country has made huge strides. I remember the 1970s, and the horror of the National Front. I truly believe that we are a much, much less racist society than we were, in many ways far happier and better. But we must also frankly acknowledge that there is so much more to do – in eradicating prejudice, and creating opportunity, and the government I lead is committed to that effort. And so I say yes, you are right, we are all right, to say Black Lives Matter; and to all those who have chosen to protest peacefully and who have insisted on social distancing – I say, yes of course I hear you, and I understand. But I must also say that we are in a time of national trial, when for months this whole country has come together to fight a deadly plague. After such sacrifice, we cannot now let it get out of control. It is BAME communities who have been at the forefront of the struggle against coronavirus – whether in health care or transport or social care or any of the other essential services that have kept our country going. And it is BAME communities, tragically, that have paid a disproportionate price. So no, I will not support those who flout the rules on social distancing, for the obvious reason that we risk a new infection at a critical time and just as we have made huge progress. And no, I will not support or indulge those who break the law, or attack the police, or desecrate public monuments. We have a democracy in this country. If you want to change the urban landscape, you can stand for election, or vote for someone who will. And so I must say clearly that those who attack public property or the police –who injure the police officers who are trying to keep us all safe – those people will face the full force of the law; not just because of the hurt and damage they are causing, but because of the damage they are doing to the cause they claim to represent. They are hijacking a peaceful protest and undermining it in the eyes of many who might otherwise be sympathetic. And as a society, we can and must do better. This month, on the 22nd of June, we celebrate the arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948, and we remember the contribution of the Afro-Caribbean workers – in the NHS and across all public services – who helped to rebuild this country after the war. And today, once again, we face a great task: to relaunch this country after Coronavirus. So let’s work peacefully, lawfully, to defeat racism and discrimination wherever we find it, and let us continue to work together across all the communities of this country, as we put Britain back on its feet.
• 2020, UK Prime Minister publishes article in The Telegraph in response to the far-right protest at the Winston Churchill statue
  The Prime Minister's article read as follows: It was utterly absurd that a load of far-right thugs and bovver boys yesterday converged on London with a mission to protect the statue of Winston Churchill. It was right that a good number should have been arrested. They were violent. They were aggressive towards the police. They were patently racist. There is nothing that can excuse their behaviour. And yet it was also, frankly, absurd and deplorable that the statue of Winston Churchill should have been in any plausible danger of attack. It was outrageous that anyone could even have claimed that the statue needed protection. It was and is miserable to see his statue entombed in its protective sheath. It is true that the monument has been covered up several times before, in anticipation of trouble, after consultation with the Mayor’s office and English Heritage, because the police believe that is the safest and simplest thing to do. But many people will look at that image and feel a sense of bewilderment. Why attack Churchill? What has the world come to when one of this country’s greatest ever leaders – perhaps our greatest - has to be shielded from the wrath of the mob? We all understand the depth of feeling that has been exposed by the killing, in Minnesota, of George Floyd. No one who cares about this country can ignore the many thousands of people who have joined the Black Lives Movement to protest peacefully, as most of them have, in the last few days. It is no use just saying that we have made huge progress in tackling racism. There is much more that we need to do; and we will. It is time for a cross-governmental commission to look at all aspects of inequality – in employment, in health outcomes, in academic and all other walks of life. We need to tackle the substance of the problem, not the symbols. We need to address the present, not attempt to re-write the past – and that means we cannot and must not get sucked into never-ending debate about which well-known historical figure is sufficiently pure or politically correct to remain in public view. Where will it end? Are we supposed to haul down Cromwell who killed so many thousands of people in Ireland? What about Nelson and all the other innumerable reminders of this country’s imperial past? Take the case of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, whose portrait hangs in Room 15 of the National Portrait Gallery. He was a native of the Gambia who was known and admired in C18 London as a translator of Arab texts. He was also, originally, a slaver himself. Does that mean he should be purged from the Gallery? My point is that our history is immensely complex, and modern Britain is a product of a vast conglomerate of ideas and beliefs – not all of which look good in the light of today. Yes, Churchill expressed all sorts of views over his immense career – and bear in mind that he entered parliament under Queen Victoria and left it under Queen Elizabeth - which are totally unacceptable to modern ears. As it happens, he generally changed with the times. He changed his view on India, and her capacity for independence; and whatever he may have said about Islam in the 1890s, he also built the Regent’s Park Mosque in the 1940s. And above all – as so many have rightly pointed out – it is the height of lunacy to accuse him of racism, when he stood alone against a racist tyranny that without his resistance would have overwhelmed this country and the rest of Europe. He was a hero, and I expect I am not alone in saying that I will resist with every breath in my body any attempt to remove that statue from Parliament Square, and the sooner his protective shielding comes off the better. It is not just that is wrong to destroy public property by violence. I am also extremely dubious about the growing campaign to edit or photoshop the entire cultural landscape. If we start purging the record and removing the images of all but those whose attitudes conform to our own, we are engaged in a great lie, a distortion of our history – like some public figure furtively trying to make themselves look better by editing their own Wikipedia entry. Would it not be better and more honest to ask our children to understand the context, to explain the mixture of good and bad in the career of Churchill and everyone else? And rather than tear some people down, we should build others up, and celebrate the people who we in this generation believe are worthy of memorial. We have brilliant sculptors and artists. Why should they not be commissioned to make fitting additions to the landscape and cityscape? Take the great courtyard in the Foreign and Commonwealth office, where stone statues of British explorers and imperialists look down from the niches. Many of the niches are for some reason unfilled. Rather than tear down the past, why not add some of the men and women – most often BAME – who helped to make our modern Commonwealth and our modern world? Isn’t that a more cheerful approach? This new vogue for politically correct iconoclasm is not just dispiriting, and unfair, and often ahistorical. Worst of all, it is a total distraction from the matter in hand. It does nothing for BAME people to go around mutilating statues, or campaigning against this or that cultural relic. There are far greater and more important battles. In the last ten years we have seen a big expansion in BAME students at our universities; more young black kids excelling in the most challenging subjects at school. The struggle now is to turn that into the universal narrative and the universal expectation – a story of success and not discrimination. That means taking seriously the serious points that are raised by the marchers. It means addressing racism and discrimination, and stamping it out. But it does not mean wasting time in delectable academic disputation about the life and opinions of every historical personality currently immortalised in bronze or stone. Let’s fight racism, but leave our heritage broadly in peace. If we really want to change it, there are democratic means available in this country – thanks, by the way, to Winston Churchill.
• 2020, We Are Bristol Commission appointed
  A few months after the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, Mayor Marvin Rees appoints the We Are Bristol History Commission to ensure that a fully inclusive story of the city is made available to the public
• 2020, Winston Churchill statue boarded up in advance of demonstrations
• 2021 Panneau de substitution pour la statue du général Leclerc à Pontoise
• 2021 Statue du général Leclerc avec une pancarte autour du cou
• 2021-2022, Protest movement in Guadeloupe and Martinique against compulsory vaccination.
  The obligation for health-care workers to be vaccinated against Covid 19 met with strong opposition in Guadeloupe and Martinique, in a context where the management of the health crisis was different from that in mainland France, and where the health of the inhabitants of the Antilles was still very poorly taken into account and cared for by the public authorities (lack of resources and personnel in the health services; chlordecone scandal). From November onwards, opposition hardened and a curfew was imposed, leading to demonstrations, a general strike and urban violence.
• 2021, We are Bristol History Commission public consultation
• 2021, "Marseille, empreintes coloniales", projet pédagogique de l'association Ancrages
  Ancrages réalise le projet pédagogique « Marseille, Empreintes coloniales », en partenariat avec les Archives Municipales de Marseille pendant les vacances d'octobre 2021. Les jeunes de la Fraternité de la Belle de Mai sont partis sur les traces des empreintes coloniales de la ville de Marseille et des quartiers du centre-ville, Vieux-Port, Canebière, Réformés, Saint-Charles et Belle de Mai. Les différentes étapes sont ensuite restituées sous forme de cartographie participative autour des empreintes coloniales de la ville de Marseille sur le site de l'association.
• 2021, « Statue Voltaire : un lieu alliant protection et visibilité de l’œuvre à l’étude », Communiqué de presse de la Ville de Paris
  Exploratory tour by Karine Taïeb, deputy mayor in charge of heritage, and the mayor of the VIth arrondissement, with a proposal to reinstall the statue in the courtyard of the historic site of the Faculty of Medicine, where it will be visible from the street but under a protective archway.
• 2021, Artistic performance by Deborah de Robertis on the monument to Gallieni in Paris
  On 26 September 2021, an artistic performance by Deborah de Robertis, feminist artist, takes place on the monument to Gallieni. Six naked Mariannes, only wearing an phrygian cap, climb on the monument an pour red paint from between their legs, symbolizing blood dropping down their genitals. On Twitter, the artist elaborated on her performance: « La statue a un sexe : c’est un sexe d’homme. Le colon est un homme, le tyran est un homme, le dictateur est un homme. Ce qu’ils ont en commun est une bite : la colonisation est un viol. Caméras au front, les corps - sortant de leur statut d’objet, deviennent sujets. Les femmes violent le Pouvoir, et non l’inverse. Les Mariannes nous regardent, en femmes fontaines, éjaculent à la face du colon, jouissant de violer le pouvoir. Le renversement par l'art opère à la suite de siècles de silence, il est le résultat d’une recherche et d’une pensée conceptuelle. Le renversement n’est pas un accident de l’Histoire mais un accouchement, dans la douleur et dans le sang." The city of Paris pressed charges for "dégradation de bien public"
• 2021, Artistic prank by Ivan Argote on the monument to Gallieni in Paris
  On April 19 2021, visual artist Ivan Argote published a video of a small team of people lifting Gallieni's statue away from the monument with a crane (see references). The French newspaper Regards published it as the city of Paris removing the statue, but this was only an artistic performance enhanced with visual effects to imagine new potential futures for Paris and the monument. When Regards posted this on social media, panic ensued, and officials from the city of Paris rushed to the scene to see that the monument was intact; they posted a photo on their twitter accoun asking Regards to stop publishing fake news. This jumpstarted a debate on social media, almost a year after the wave of contestations against this monument.
• 2021, Future of the statue of Belain d'Esnambuc
  Interview d’Annie Chandey, élue et déléguée à la culture à la mairie de la ville, qui indique que les vestiges des trois statues ont été recueillis et sont conservés avec l’objectif de les exposer dans un lieu dédié et dans leur état
• 2021, Benjamin Stora, Questions of remembrance concerning colonization and the Algerian war, report submitted to the President of the Republic.
• 2021, Cleaning by Action Française of the monument to Gallieni in Paris
  On October 3, l’Action Française Paris, a monarchist and radical right-wing group, posts a video on Twitter showing their members cleaning the monument to Gallieni with brushes and water bottles. This method does not follow art conservator methods and recommendations, and are damaging to the monument. On Twitter, the video caption reads: "L’@actionfrancaise était une fois de plus présente pour préserver l’Héritage en nettoyant la statue du Maréchal Gallieni, souillée récemment. Face à la négation de notre patrimoine par quelques esprits confus en mal de reconnaissance : français, rejoins nos rangs !" In the video, activists explain: "En réaction face à la souillure de ce monument, érigé en l'honneur du Maréchal Gallieni, sauveur de Paris en 1914 face à l'avancée allemande, l'Action Française a pris les devants et, contrairement à la mairie, a nettoyé ce monument à la gloire de la France et de ses héritages." Radical right-wing activists thus position themselves as defendors of statues and monuments, while their defense methods are further damaging the monuments they claim to protect, and constitute a different type of "dégradation de bien public".
• 2021, Cleaning by the city of Paris of the monument to Gallieni
  The city of Paris starts cleaning the red paint off the monument to Gallieni on September 30, and publicized it on social media.
• 2021, Creation of a working group for interpretation of the Redvers Buller statue
• 2021, Health crisis in the French West Indies
  In 2020, and especially 2021 the health policy applied under Covid-19 gave rise to major tensions in the West Indies: first cases in February, confinement until May when cases were limited, lack of medical resources, implementation of the health pass and anti-vaccine protests.
• 2021, Debate and consultation on whether to keep or remove the statue of Napoleon in Rouen
  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.
• 2021, Display of Colston statue in M Shed
• 2021, Black tulle is placed on the statue of General Leclerc
  As part of the Heritage Days celebrations, black tulle was placed over the statue, works by painter Roland Delelo were placed in front of the base and the cartel was covered by a cardboard case with another text.
• 2021, Exeter City Council provides an update on the Redvers Buller statue
• 2021, Exeter City Council reverses its earlier decision and votes against the removal of the Redvers Buller statue
• 2021, Exeter City Council votes to relocate the Redvers Buller statue
• 2021, Photo exhibition of Guillaume Herbaut including an image of the Lyautey statue sprayed with red paint
  From 2021, a photograph of the statue sprayed in red has been included in the "The Fifth" (Rebublic) series of photographs produced by Guillaume Herbaut in 2020 and exhibited in various French cities from 2021 onwards.