This Friday morning, while the Minister of the Interior presented the future police station in Nice, black fabrics were erected by the police in front of the bookstore opposite the place of the future establishment.
The messages that the police officers wanted to hide were posted by the Collecteures de Nice collective in collaboration with the bookstore in question.
No response was provided to justify this action by the police when "the messages were neither insulting nor defamatory and positioned in a private business", recalls the collective which stuck the slogans.
"Who sows impunity reaps anger", "rapists we see you" or even "Sophie we believe you" in letters painted on white sheets.
This Friday morning, on the windows of the Les Parleuses bookshop, these slogans were put up by the collective of the Colleureuses de Nice on the occasion of the visit of the Minister of the Interior and Overseas, who presented the new hotel des fonts right in front.
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“After realizing the presence of the messages, the police tore down the slogans present outside the windows, says the collective interviewed by
20 Minutes
.
They then discovered that the same messages were also displayed inside, and therefore inaccessible.
A few minutes later, material was deposited in order to make wooden frames covered with black sheets which were then positioned against the windows to hide the posters.
“Send a clear message”
The action therefore probably disturbed.
“When we arrived to open our bookstore around 9:30 a.m., there were these large black fabrics hung up, explains Maud, co-manager of the place.
The police took our identities and when we asked them to explain and if it was illegal, we got no answer.
»
The collective explains that this action was intended to "send a clear message".
"By taking advantage of the arrival of Gérald Darmanin, there was the desire to challenge the government on sexist and sexual violence, but also on the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of this violence, but also to allow passers-by to question themselves by showing our support for the victims.
»
This collaboration was all the more symbolic because Les Parleuses had received Hélène Devynck, author of
L'impunité
, three days earlier.
"Gérald Darmanin comes across from us, the one who represents the system that muzzles us, something had to be done," exclaims Maud.
“Cover this book that I cannot see.
For Gérald Darmanin's visit to Nice, the window of the Les Parleuses bookstore was censored.
Black curtain protected by the CRS #impunite #lesparleuses #lescolleusesdenice pic.twitter.com/RHjL1Icho4
— Devynck Hélène (@DevynckH) December 9, 2022
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“Censorship, no more no less”
The owners of the establishment did not have the right to remove the black sheets until the departure of the Minister of the Interior from the future police station.
“We were forbidden to touch what they had put in, continues the bookseller.
We wonder about the possibility of acting in this way on the part of the police.
These messages were on our windows, which belong to us.
Just like freedom of expression.
What are they trying to hide?
What does that mean ?
If Monsieur Darmanin comes, we don't have the right to do that?
But then, why?
»
Same questions from the Nice collective which recalls that “the messages were not insulting and not defamatory, positioned behind the windows of a business with the agreement of the managers”.
According to the collective, “it is censorship, no more, no less”.
Les Colleureuses conclude: “Although the fight against sexist and sexual violence is for the second time the great cause of the quinquennium, apparently all the truths are not good to say.
»
Contacted by
20 Minutes,
nor
the Departmental Directorate of Public Security of the Alpes-Maritimes, nor the prefecture or the town hall were able to provide answers at the time of publication of the article.
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Gérald Darmanin was accused of rape, sexual harassment and breach of trust by Sophie Patterson-Spatz for acts that allegedly occurred in Paris in 2009. He was dismissed in July.
The plaintiff appealed.
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Nice
Paca
Gerald Darmanin
Feminism
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