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What has happened to France’s ‘missing’ Voltaire statue?

When workmen were spotted in Paris packing away the statue of Voltaire, rumours immediately began online that the enlightenment philosopher, historian and writer had become a victim of 'cancel culture'.

Published: 18 August 2020 16:49 CEST
What has happened to France's 'missing' Voltaire statue?
French writer Voltaire. Photo: AFP

The rumours that it was being removed for good appear to have begun with far-right social media accounts who blamed 'anti-racists', but soon spread so that by Tuesday morning #voltaire was trending on Twitter in France, possibly a first for the writer since his death in 1778.

Several French MPs even joined in the debate, demanding answers from culture minister Roselyn Bachelot, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, prime minister Jean Castex and president Emmanuel Macron – who had a telephone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to discuss the rapidly unravelling situation in Belarus so might have had other things on his mind.

Paris' deputy mayor Emmanuel Grégoire then got involved, tweeting that the statue had merely been taken away for cleaning.

 

However, he went on to add that it will not be returning to its former home in Rue de Bac in the city's 6th arrondissement.

Once the cleaning is complete, the statue will be returned to the Centre national des arts plastiques, he said, adding that: “The city would like it to be relocated in the public space, with the permission of the state.”

He also dismissed the rumours by paraphrasing Voltaire himself Quand une fois la calomnie est entrée dans l'esprit d'un médisant, elle n'en déloge pas (once calumny has entered the mind of a slanderer it does not dislodge) at which point one of the MPs who had retweeted the story graciously apologised.

 

Exactly where the statue of François-Marie Arouet – to give him the name he was born with – is heading to remains a mystery.

Following the Black Lives Matter that saw several statues around the globe removed – including the statue of British slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol – Macron stated: “The French Republic will not erase any trace or name from its history.”

 

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POLITICS

French territory New Caledonia counts the cost of overnight riots

People in New Caledonia's main city Noumea assessed the damage on Tuesday after a night of rioting in the French Pacific territory that saw vehicles and shops torched, and shots fired at security forces.

Published: 14 May 2024 08:08 CEST
French territory New Caledonia counts the cost of overnight riots

Riots erupted on Monday over a constitutional reform that is being debated in the national assembly in Paris, and which aims to expand the electorate in the territory’s provincial elections.

Groups of demonstrators took over several roundabouts and confronted police, who responded with non-lethal rounds, while the territory’s high commissioner said shots had been fired at security forces during the riots.

On Tuesday, the streets of Noumea bore the scars of clashes between the police and rioters with traffic blocked by burnt-out cars and smoking piles of tyres.

“The police station nearby was on fire and a car was too, in front of my house, there was non-stop shouting and explosions, I felt like I was in a war,” said Sylvie, whose family has lived in New Caledonia for several generations.

“We are alone. Who is going to protect us?” she told AFP, asking to be identified only by her first name.

A total of 36 people were arrested and 30 police officers injured, according to authorities, who also announced a night-time curfew on Tuesday and a ban on public gatherings.

No deaths have been reported.

“I can’t talk,” said Joelle Vincent, who owns a supermarket business. “I am disappointed and disgusted.”

The fire brigade recorded nearly 1,500 calls and counted around 200 fires in the overnight unrest.

At least two car dealerships and a bottling factory in the capital Noumea were set on fire in arson attacks, an AFP journalist saw.

‘Side by side’

While the situation appeared more calm in parts of Noumea on Tuesday, there were still clashes in the suburbs, where a supermarket was looted after being rammed during the night.

Many other businesses also bore the marks of attempted break-ins and few shops were open. Long queues were forming in front of the few that are still open.

Hundreds of cars were set on fire, as were more than 30 businesses, shops and factories, according to a group of employers’ representatives.

The group issued an appeal for calm and said nearly 1,000 jobs on the island had been put at risk by the unrest.

The island’s public transport network has also been cut off, with the territory’s flag carrier Aircalin announcing that it was cancelling all its flights for Tuesday.

“I feel sad,” Jean-Franck Jallet, who owns a butcher shop that firefighters managed to rescue from the flames. “I thought it was possible for us (islanders) to live side by side, but it hasn’t worked. There are too many lies.”

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