The totem pole evoking the history of Nantes streets is located rue Kervégan. - F.Brenon / 20Minutes

  • The city of Bordeaux installed explanatory plaques in the streets last week that bear the names of slave traders.
  • Six streets honoring personalities who participated in the triangular trade exist in Nantes.
  • The town hall has chosen to rely on a single panel.

The city of Bordeaux was talked about at the end of last week by hanging explanatory plaques under the names of five streets evoking a Bordeaux personality who participated in the triangular trade and who therefore contributed (sometimes indirectly) to the slave trade.

Nantes, too, had taken an active part in this slavery activity between the end of the 17th century and the middle of the 19th. And even today, six of its streets are named after a family involved in the triangular trade at the time. As in Bordeaux, several associations demanded to rename these streets or to add explanatory plaques to them. What did Nantes City Hall do?

"Explain rather than erase or stigmatize"

Neither of the two hypotheses was ultimately adopted. Johanna Rolland's team favored the installation in 2018 of a single panel (a totem), located rue Kervégan. This panel, which is part of an urban course, stretching from the castle of the Dukes of Brittany to the memorial to the abolition of slavery, evokes both the historical roles of Christophe-Claire de Kervégan, shipowner during the Traffick of blacks, and that of Olympe de Gouges, woman of letters engaged in the abolitionist cause. However, it does not specify the names of the other streets and avenues concerned (Guillaume-Grou, Colbert, Guillon, Bourgaud-Ducoudray, Millet).

Rue Kervégan is named after a Nantes personality involved in triangular trade. - F.Brenon / 20Minutes

"Rather than erasing or stigmatizing, we prefer to explain what happened, to educate in public space, justifies Olivier Château, assistant mayor in charge of heritage. We could have done it with small plaques street by street. We preferred to bet on a large, more visible panel, which allows us to understand the process. "

The memorial, a symbolic place

The process does not stop there. “We also offer elements of understanding on our Nantes Patrimonia site,” adds Olivier Château. The Nantes history museum (at the castle) is one of the most advanced museums on this theme. And we also rely, of course, on the memorial of the abolition of slavery, which has become a symbolic place visited by many schoolchildren. "

Inaugurated in 2012 on the Quai de la Fosse, the memorial of the abolition of slavery is unique in mainland France. It is visited by 200,000 visitors each year on average.

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  • Street
  • Slavery
  • Jean-Marc Ayrault
  • Nantes