It was in September 2020 that the statue of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in Rouen in northern France was dismantled and taken down for restoration.
The statue has stood in the same place outside the town hall since 1865.
Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, who is the city's mayor, thought that far too many streets, squares and statues were represented by male names.
Then he took the opportunity to launch his idea.
A new statue of the famous lawyer, author and feminist activist Gisèle Halimi who died in 2020 would take the emperor's place.
Engaged in the abortion issue
Gisèle Halimi was involved in several women's rights issues from the 1950s onwards.
In her role as defense lawyer, she represented, among other things, a 17-year-old who performed an abortion after being raped - a case that received much attention in the country.
The girl was acquitted and the trial paved the way for the decriminalization of abortion, which did not come until 1975.
The debate rages
The statue plans are an attempt to erase France's history, some believe.
A good way to give women more space in the public space, others think.
"I do not understand why the most visible and most symbolic places should be reserved for men," the mayor replied to a user on Twitter when the question had spread nationally.
The debate has been raging for a year, and now work is beginning to gather the opinions of the residents on the issue.
Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol believes that it is the people who will ultimately decide the fate of the statue.