A “criminal slaver and colonialist”.

This is how an association qualifies General Leclerc, French general of the Revolution and brother-in-law of Napoleon, asking that the statue dedicated to him in Pontoise (Val-d'Oise), his birthplace, be presented differently to "restore the truth" about this man.

"It is not acceptable to present General Leclerc, who is linked to Pontoise only because he was born there, in a unilaterally positive way, as a peacemaker, when historians agree on the fact that he has no only restored the slavery in Santo Domingo, but that he was also guilty of war crimes, even genocide, on the local population”, writes in a request addressed to the court the association Pontoise On the left Really.

Sent against Toussaint Louverture

On the panel presenting the statue of General Leclerc, is written: “Born in Pontoise in 1772, General Leclerc distinguished himself in 1796 during the Italian campaign led by Bonaparte.

Having become the husband of Pauline Bonaparte in 1797, he helped his brother-in-law during the coup d'etat of 18 Brumaire.

Sent by him to the island of Santo Domingo to pacify it, he acquitted himself remarkably of his task, before being struck down by yellow fever in 1802.

Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc is known for having led the Saint-Domingue expedition, which had the mission of overthrowing Toussaint Louverture.

This expedition was a failure and led in 1803 to the independence of Santo Domingo, which became Haiti.

"We must destroy all the Negroes of the mountains"

The association Pontoise A gauche Vraiment asked the town hall in February to remove the explanatory panel located in front of the statue, and to replace it with another, which "restores the truth", according to it.

The town hall having ignored its demands, the association seized the administrative court in June, highlighting the writings of General Leclerc, who affirmed according to it in a letter: "We must destroy all the Negroes of the mountains, men and women, do not keep only children under the age of 12, ”reports the request, which

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obtained .

According to the association, leaving such a sign could be contrary to the law of May 21, 2011 on the recognition of trafficking and slavery as a crime against humanity.

According to various concordant sources, the city of Pontoise is working on writing a new text presenting General Leclerc, which should be submitted to historians.

"Whatever the court decides, it would seem that our action is bearing fruit, but it will have taken several months, even several years, of mobilization, proposals and a procedure before the administrative court for the town hall to finally decide to act. !

“, laments the association.

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  • Paris

  • Slavery

  • Pontoise

  • Ile-de-France

  • Haiti