Cast in Stone

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• 1810, Installation of monument to Colbert in Paris
  The Palais Bourbon,where the Assemblée Nationale (legislative body, congress) meets, is originally the house of the Duchess de Bourbon (Louis XIV's daughter). It became national property in 1791 during the French Revolution to then house the legislative assembly. Under Napoleon I, the palais housed the Corps Législatif. In 1806, architect Bernard Poyet is commissioned to make a new facade. The plans include neoclassical column, reliefs that changed throughout the 1800s following France's many different regime changes, and several statues . At the bottom of the stairs, four ministers from the Ancien Regime are depicted for their contribution to the country's legislative history, but also as allegories of virtues needes for public service. The statue of Colbert by Dumont sits at the right of the ensemble, and symbolizes work ethic. The new facade is completed in 1810.
• 1881, le buste "l'esclavage" d'Etcheto reçoit le premier prix au Salon annuel des artistes français
• 1926, Annual ceremonie in memory of the Marne Battle in front of the monument to Gallieni in Paris
  The 12th anniversary of the bataille de la Marne took place on September 5th, 1926 in Paris and the nearby town of Meaux. This important battle from World War 1 was Gallieni's main military achievement in defending Paris against the German army. The commemoration ritual now included Gallieni's statue on the Esplanade des Invalides. At the foot of the monument, Pierre Godin (head of Paris city council) and Mr. Champion (vice-president of the Seine department) lay down palm leaves before going to Meaux. Parisians are encouraged to visit the oak tree planted in Gallieni's honor in the Jardin du Luxembourg.
• 1926, Inauguration of the monument to Joseph Gallieni in Paris
  The inauguration ceremony included a military parade along the Esplanade des Invalides in the presence of public dignitaries and a press agency (see photos from the inauguration on Gallica).
• 1930, Partial breaking of monument to Gallieni in Paris
  On 30 May 1930, the plinth of the monument to Gallieni is found partially broken. The statue representing the French colony of Indochina was damaged in four different places, including its foot. The police officer found one toenail belonging to the statue, and broken pieces of glass, which he identified as a bottle of sparkling wine. Extract from the police report (in French): « A 9 heures de service au carrefour de la rue de l’université et de l’avenue du Maréchal Gallieni. J’ai constaté que la face du socle de la statue tournée vers la direction du Champ de Mars et représentant l’Indo-Chine était détériorée en quatres [sic] endroits différents. Je n’ai trouvé que l’ongle du gros orteil du pied droit que je joins au rapport. Au pied de la statue j’ai remarqué également des éclats de verre semblant provenir d’une bouteille dit vin mousseux, ou de champagne. » After this report, the city's office contacted Jean Boucher the artist, to ask him to evaluate the damage and advise on the best way to repair the broken pieces. (source DACVP-COARC, Archives, Gallieni 2)
• 1931, International Colonila Exhibition, Vincennes
  From May to November 1931, the Vincennes International Colonial Exhibition welcomed 8 million visitors, half of them Parisians. Located in the undeveloped area of the old fortifications, the Porte Dorée district was created as an extension of the Exhibition, around the Palais des colonies, now the Palais de la Porte Dorée, which became the Musée de la France d'outre-mer in 1935.
• 1932, Inauguration du monument Mangin
  1932, Inauguration of Mangin Monument
• 1932, Interpellation of a passer-by who touched the Mangin monument
• 1932, Military funeral of André Maginot in front of the monument to Gallieni in Paris
  After the monument to Gallieni was installed on the Invalides esplanade, funeral processions of soldiers buried at the Invalides, such as Marshal Foch in 1929 and Marshal Lyautey in 1934, or Secretaries of War like Maginot in 1932, passed in front of the statue.
• 1933, Commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the death of General Mangin
  Parade of Rhineland veterans in front of the monument to General Mangin
• 1935, Comité national d'hommage au Maréchal Lyautey
  Premier projet de statue de Lyautey à Paris.
• 1935, Creation of French Overseas Museum
  1933: reopening of the historical section presented at the International Colonial Exhibition 1935: the museum is renamed Musée de la France d'outre-mer (Museum of French Overseas Territories) 1960: the museum changes its name and mission to become the Musée des arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie. 2003: End of the Museum, its collections are transfered to the new Musée du quai Branly
• 1938, Transfert du monument "à la gloire de l'expansion coloniale", Paris
  Installé par défaut en face du Palais des colonies en mai 1931 , le monument "à la gloire de l'expansion coloniale" est transféré en 1938 à Vincennes, près du château. IL est à nouveau déplacé en 1958 et retourne à son premier emplacement dans le Jardin d'agronomie tropicale (ex-coloniale).
• 1940, Destruction of the Mangin monument by the Germans
  The monument was dismantled by two German trucks. The sculpture was cut out with a blowtorch, and the pieces were taken away. The next day, the base was dynamited and the ground levelled. The bronze head was stolen and saved. The destruction was presented as revenge against the "Black Shame".
• 1940, Destroyed Mangin monument as symbolic site of resistance to German occupation
• 1941, La statue de Voltaire placée en face de l'Institut est envoyée à la refonte
  1941, 1941, The statue of Voltaire in front of the Institut was recast.
• 1949, Inauguration of Marchand Monument
  Inaugurated by Vincent Auriol, President of the French Republic, in the presence of Sir Walter Cowan, who had been in Fachoda in 1898, and who presented a French flag seized at the time.
• 1951, Deuxième projet de statue au Maréchal Lyautey
  Create an equestrian statue of Lyautey, to be installed in a monumental avenue in the Bois de Vincennes.
• 1954, Inauguration du nouveau monument Mangin
  A statue of the general, with his name, dates and 5 stars on the pedestal (front). The monument having been moved, a stele was also inaugurated on the site of the previous monument, recalling its destruction by the Germans.
• 1966, Graffiti on Mangin Statue, Paris
  "OAS" French acronym for the Secret Army Organization, a clandestine organization of Europeans who fought to the bitter end against Algerian independence, carrying out numerous attacks in Algeria and then in mainland France.
• 1972, Graffiti on the Marchand mission monument
  "Down with imperialism"
• 1978, Graffiti on the Marchand monument
  A Star of David is painted in black paint on the Marchand statue.
• 1978, Graffitis on Marchand Monument
  Red and green markings
• 1983, Explosive attack on the Marchand mission monument
  Une charge explosive destinée à endommager le Musée des arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie « symbole cynique du pillage et de l’exploitation auxquels s’est livrée la France dans son empire colonial dont la Guadeloupe, la Guyane et la Martinique sont les derniers bastions », est placée au pied du monument.
• 1985, Inauguration de la statue du Maréchal Lyautey
• 1987, Graffiti on monument to Gallieni in Paris
  The exact date and what was written on the monument was not recorded, we know of these graffiti thanks to a letter by Edouard Frédéric-Dupont, mayor of the 7th arrondissement in Paris (where the monument is located), to the head of Cultural Affairs in the city of Paris, chief of the monuments office. His letter mentions that the graffiti and inscriptions were quite shocking, but did not elaborate in his letter. He asked the city to clean the monument as soon as possible. Extract in French: « Plusieurs personnes m’ont signalé que le socle du monument du Maréchal Gallieni installé place Vauban était recouvert de graffiti dont des inscriptions assez choquantes » (source DACVP-COARC, Archives, Gallieni 2)
• 1987, Paint thrown on Gallieni monument in Paris
  We know of this contestation thanks to a letter Edouard Frédéric-Dupont, mayor of the 7th arrondissement in Paris (where the monument is located), wrote to the head of Cultural Affairs in the city of Paris, chief of the monuments office. His letter mentioned that the monuments to Gallieni and Fayolle (situated on the same place Vauban) had been smeared with paint and with inscriptions which he did not record. Once again, similarly to earlier that year, he asked the city to clean the monuments as soon as possible. Extract in French: the statues « ont été badigeonnées de peinture. Au moment où tant de touristes vont venir à Paris, il serait indispensable que vous puissiez faire gratter ces inscriptions d’urgence. » (source DACVP-COARC, Archives, Gallieni 2)
• 1987, Removal of graffiti on monument to Gallieni in Paris
  The City of Paris commissions the company Harmonie-Décoration to clean the graffiti off the monument to Gallieni. The cleaning took plance on April 24 and May 5 1987. (source DACVP-COARC, Archives, Gallieni 2)
• 1987, Restoration of the Mangin monument and plaque commemorating the destroyed monument on the Lyautey monument installed in its place.
  Texte de la plaque installée sur le monument Lyautey : « Ce monument remplace celui qui honorait, Place Denys Cochin, la mémoire du Général MANGIN et qui a été détruit sur ordre d’HITLER le 26 Juin 1940 »
• 1988, Tags on the Mangin monument
• 1989, Conservation and replacement of monument to Colbert in Paris
  In 1989, for the bicentennial of the French Revolution, the four statues at the front of the palais Bourbon underwent conservation treatment. The originals were replaced with resin casts. The original Dumont statue of Colbert was placed in front of the rectorat in Reims, France.
• 1991, Tags on Mangin Monument
• 1995, Restauration et classement de la statue de Voltaire, Paris
  The statue was restored and classified as a historical monument
• 1999, Red paint and inscription on the Churchill statue in Paris
  The statue's hands were painted red, with drips on the cane and on the monument's first step. Inscription on the monument: "HR".
• 2000, Projectile et peinture rouge sur la statue de Voltaire à Paris
  A projectile fractured the nose and cheek, fragments of which were never found. The red paint on the left hand dripped onto the left side of the jacket and onto the left leg. The damage occurred during the summer.
• 2001, adoption de la loi Taubira
  Adoptée le 10 mai 2001 sur un projet rédigé et porté par Christiane Taubira, la loi portant son nom reconnaît « que la traite négrière transatlantique ainsi que la traite dans l'océan Indien d'une part, et l'esclavage d'autre part, perpétrés à partir du xve siècle, aux Amériques et aux Caraïbes, dans l'océan Indien et en Europe contre les populations africaines, amérindiennes, malgaches et indiennes constituent un crime contre l'humanité ».
• 2002, the statue of Victor Hugo by Ousmane Sow is presented in front of French Parliament in Paris to mark World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty.
  Créée par Ousmane Sow à la demande de l'ONG Médecins du monde, elle rappelle l'engagement de Victor Hugo contre la misère
• 2002, Nose of Voltaire statue broken again by a projectile
• 2002, Projectile et peinture rouge sur la statue de Voltaire à Paris
  Nez à nouveau cassé et à nouveau, projection et coulures de peinture rouge très épaisse, sur le bas du visage jusqu’au bras côté gauche, du bas du visage au socle côté droit.
• 2006, Inauguration de la statue de Thomas Jefferson à Paris
• 2007, Voile noir et fleurs sur la statue de Mangin, Paris
  Tribute to the mutinous soldiers of 1917 organized by the ecologist party Les Verts. Statement by Denis Baupin, leader of Les Verts for the next municipal elections, "Parisian memory must no longer be hemiplegic and must also pay tribute to those who opposed war and its ravages".
• 2010, Graffitis on Marchand Monument, Paris
  "Mayotte is not for sale, Mayotte is Comorian".
• 2012, Célébration de la qualification de l’équipe de France de basket aux Jeux Olympiques de Londres
  La statue est revêtue d’un maillot géant sur le modèle de celui des joueurs de basket de l’équipe de France. Photographie de l’équipe de France de basket au pied de la statue. Le journal télévisé montre la statue recouverte de son maillot géant.
• 2012, Request to reinstall the Marchand statue
  The request was made by an opposition politician from the 12th arrondissement of Paris (where the monument is located). Among the reasons given: the "humanitarian" dimension of the mission. The request was rejected. Following the same logic of rehabilitation, flowers are sometimes placed on the monument: at the feet of the first European and at the feet of the doctor (example in 2024).
• 2013, Black paint projected onto the statue of Voltaire
  A black moustache was painted on the face, and the pubis was also painted black.
• 2016, Graffiti on Marchand monument
  "We shit on your colonial nostalgia"
• 2018, Projection de peinture rouge sur la statue de Voltaire à Paris
  Le nez est à nouveau cassé. Des graffitis sont inscrits sur le socle à la peinture rouge : NTM VOLTAIRE FUCK
• 2019, Black paint on the statue of Voltaire in Paris
• 2020, Address to the French people by the President of France
  An extract of Emmanuel Macron's speech: This economic, ecological and solidarity-based reconstruction will be the key to our independence. It will be prepared throughout the summer with our nation's driving forces so that it can be implemented as quickly as possible. France's independence also requires unity around the Republic if we are to live better. This is the second axis of this new stage. I see us dividing over everything and sometimes losing touch with our history. We need to unite around republican patriotism. We are a nation where everyone, whatever their origins or religion, must find their place. Is this true everywhere and for everyone? No. Our fight must therefore continue and intensify to ensure that everyone gets the qualifications and jobs that match their merits and talents, and to combat the fact that name, address and skin colour all too often still reduce the equality of opportunity that everyone should have. We will be uncompromising in the face of racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination, and strong new decisions will be taken. But this noble fight goes astray when it is transformed into communitarianism, into a hateful or false rewriting of the past. This fight is unacceptable when it is co-opted by separatists. I am telling you very clearly this evening, my dear compatriots, the Republic will not erase any trace or any name from its History. The Republic will not take down statues. Instead, we must take a clear-sighted look together at all our history, all our memories, our relationship with Africa in particular, in order to build a present and a possible future, from one side of the Mediterranean to the other, with a desire for truth and in no way to revisit or deny what we are. Nor will we build our future in disorder. Without republican order, there can be neither security nor freedom. The police and gendarmes on our soil are the guardians of this order. They are exposed to daily risks on our behalf, which is why they deserve the support of the public authorities and the gratitude of the nation.
• 2020, Anticolonial graffiti on the monument to Gallieni in Paris
  Following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in the United States, antiracist protests inspired by Black Lives Matter flourish in France in the Spring of 2020. On June 16, the monument to Gallieni is graffitied with blue spray paint reading "Déboulonnons le récit officiel" (Let's take down the official narrative) on the front plinth, "Dans un musée" (In a museum), and "Etat responsable" (Responsible State) on the other sides. Next to the front graffiti, a different hand wrote: "89 000 † à Madagascar, ni oubli ni pardon" (89,000 deaths in Madagascar, no forgetting nor forgiving).