The word “rapist” was tagged next to the representation of Abbé Pierre on the fresco of the Lyonnais, while the question of his erasure from this work has been raised for several weeks.
Le Figaro Lyon
The word “Rapist” sprayed in large letters and red paint blocking the eyes. The portrait of Abbé Pierre painted on the Fresque des Lyonnais was defaced in Lyon, his hometown, an AFP journalist noted on Monday. The band of red paint on the face was drawn on Saturday, and the word in black capital letters, underlined by an arrow pointing towards the abbot, was written during the night from Sunday to Monday.
The Fresque des Lyonnais is a trompe-l’oeil painted on a six-story building representing famous historical and contemporary Lyonnais, the latter being placed on the ground floor of the building. The full-length portrait of Henri Grouès, known as Abbé Pierre, born in Lyon, stands alongside those of the chef Paul Bocuse, the writer Frédéric Dard and the director Bertrand Tavernier. Since the revelations of sexual assault targeting the cleric, the painting of the former icon of the fight against poor housing had remained intact, until the damage this weekend, noted the AFP journalist.
Abbé Pierre soon to be erased from the fresco?
While many cities have already renamed places named in homage to the founder of Emmaüs, the question arose for the Fresque des Lyonnais, private property of CitéCréation, a cooperative which has produced several hundred painted walls in France and in the world. The Lyon town hall indicated in mid-September that it was “ready to support the removal of Abbé Pierre from this fresco”and had pressed “CitéCréation’s proposal to put up a poster” aimed at informing the public about the ongoing process.
Also readSouth of Lyon, the childhood town of Abbé Pierre cancels a memorial project
In France, some 150 roads or localities are named Abbé-Pierre or Henri-Grouès, according to an AFP count made in mid-September from the national address database.
