Death of George Floyd: Statues of Christopher Columbus attacked in Boston, Miami and Virginia - 20 Minutes

"We must take hold of the memory of these characters, it is not a question of erasing what they were but of recontextualizing. "Rather than dismantling the statues of controversial historical figures or renaming the streets, it would be better to erect on the same places, in response, monuments dedicated to other figures in order to" look History in the face ", suggested l entourage of Emmanuel Macron.

The president's advisers were asked about the words of government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye, who wanted to “ask the question” to rename Avenue Bugeaud in Paris, which bears the name of the French general responsible for the massacre of many Algerians in 19th century.

"It is not a question of renaming the avenue Bugeaud but why not a monument addressed to the emir Abdelkader - whom Bugeaud fought - who was detained at the castle of Amboise", commented an adviser. "Why not a statue of Emile Zola in front of that of Paul Déroulède", founder in 1882 of the Ligue des Patriotes, anti-Dreyfus movement. “Extremist groups try to impose a binary vision of Puritan history and attack republican symbols and the values ​​of the Republic. This attempt to import an intersectional vision of memory cannot be compatible with a republican memory shared by all ”, estimate close to the president, worried about the degradations this weekend of statues of General de Gaulle and Gambetta.

"Displaced or explained" the statues of Colbert

A bust of Charles de Gaulle was vandalized in Hautmont (North) with the word "slavery" inscribed in red paint, reported the president of the Hauts-de-France region Xavier Bertrand on Twitter. Last Saturday, during the demonstration in memory of Adama Traoré, demonstrators wanted to target the statue installed in front of the National Assembly of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, minister of Louis XIV, on the initiative in 1685 of the Black Code, which legislated slavery in the French colonies.

While Jean-Marc Ayrault, current president of the Foundation for the memory of slavery, asked Saturday to rename a Colbert hall in the Assembly, the senator PS of Guadeloupe and former minister of Overseas Victorin Lurel wishes that his statue before the Assembly, or that located within the Senate, be "moved or explained".

"The Republic will not erase any trace or any name from its History"

"In a republican, democratic and free state, it is neither the role of parliament nor of the judiciary to define historical truth. However, because history grounds our consciences, because memories - long ashamed - remain painful, because in the face of the occultation and denial still alive, the honor of the Republic is to work for the reconciliation of memories Writes the senator on Facebook.

A few days before the commemorations of the # 18 June call, at a time when we must remember that General #DeGaulle brought to life the flame of resistance, the vandalization of this statue in Hautmont is scandalous. This calls for strong sanctions! pic.twitter.com/jdtaMNU48b

- Xavier Bertrand (@xavierbertrand) June 15, 2020

Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that it would be "intractable in the face of racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination" but that "this noble fight is misused when it turns into communitarianism, hateful or false rewriting of the past". He added: "The Republic will not erase any trace or any name from its History. The Republic will not unbolt a statue. Rather, we must lucidly look together at all of our History, all of our memories. ”

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