Paris (AFP)
The Peace Wall, creation of the artist Clara Halter installed for 20 years on the Champ de Mars in Paris, will be moved, after years of controversy and vandalism around this work, announced Tuesday the writer Marek Halter , widower of the artist.
"In connection with the Ministry of Culture, the deconstruction of the Peace Wall actually started on May 25 for a period of about a month," confirmed the City of Paris to AFP. The work "will be rebuilt in the coming months near the current site. Several places are currently under study," she said.
Marek Halter indicates for his part in a press release that he "recently accepted a compromise proposed by the State and the City of Paris: moving the Wall for Peace, in a new form, avenue de Breteuil, opposite the church of the Invalides" .
The writer "hopes" that Emmanuel Macron will inaugurate the new Wall in "October", he writes, stressing that the work of the Champ de Mars, "tagged with racist and anti-Semitic calls, vandalized, decried by some", was "defended by the Mayor of Paris and a large number of eminent intellectuals".
The monument, designed by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, was inaugurated in March 2000 by Jacques Chirac, as part of the celebrations for the year 2000.
The Wall for Peace had been installed "place Joffre in the 7th arrondissement in order to embody peace in the world. The word peace is inscribed in 49 languages on its large glass panels," recalls the City. Place Joffre must accommodate "the Grand Ephemeral Palace which will open its doors at the beginning of 2021 with a cultural, sporting and Olympic offer," she adds.
The "Wall" was originally installed for four months, but ultimately remained. Heritage defense associations had made its withdrawal their workhorse. The work was at the center of a legal battle with the mayor of the 7th arrondissement, Rachida Dati, who had declared the installation illegal and denounced the obstruction of "the classified perspective of the Military School at the Eiffel Tower, in violation of the law ".
The Halter couple had attacked Rachida Dati for defamation. Convicted at first instance in 2011 and then on appeal the following year, Rachida Dati had had her conviction overturned in 2014 by the Court of Cassation.
According to the City of Paris, "all operations are organized with respect for the users of the Champ-de-Mars, the protection of this exceptional site of Parisian heritage and in accordance with current health rules".
© 2020 AFP