Europe 1 with AFP 7:54 p.m., December 13, 2021

The socialist mayor of Rouen had proposed to move the equestrian statue of Napoleon, enthroned on the town hall square, to install a work dedicated to the feminist lawyer Gisèle Halimi.

In a consultation that brought together more than 4,000 voters, 68% of people are in favor of the return of the statue.

The equestrian statue of Napoleon in Rouen, removed last year to be restored, will return to the forecourt of the Town Hall, the municipality announced on Monday, which intends to follow the results of a public consultation.

The results of this consultation, which brought together 4,080 voters, show that "the majority of voters are in favor of the return of the statue of Napoleon to the same place without further change," said the city of Rouen in a press release.

A debunking that had sparked a wave of indignation

"We will follow the opinions expressed by the people of Rouen and Rouen, both on the development of the Town Hall square and its renaturation, the representation of women in public space and on the statue of Napoleon, his return to the square as well as temporary arrangements during its restoration "reacted the mayor (PS) of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, quoted in the press release.

The unbolting of this statue on July 2, 2020 had sparked a wave of indignation on social networks in particular.

In a tweet, the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Eric Ciotti and future candidate for the LR presidential nomination, had even wrongly accused "wokism and the deconstruction of our identity in action", while the monument had been removed for perform a restore.

Return of the statue and place for feminism?

The mayor of Rouen had proposed to move it after its renovation to install on the town hall square a work of art dedicated to the feminist lawyer Gisèle Halimi.

According to the results of the consultation, 68% of the 4,080 voters are in favor of the return of the statue of Napoleon to the town hall.

In addition "38.6% are in favor of the return of Napoleon with a place made for female expression in public space", adds the municipality.

Called "Et si on statuait", this vote was opened in October.

It focused on redevelopment proposals and also on the place of women in Rouen: to this question 65.6% said they wanted a better place to be given to women in the name of streets, squares and gardens, and 67.10 % with plaques paying homage to women.