The word “Rapist” tagged 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.
On Monday afternoon, the tags and the upper half of the portrait were covered with a large square gray poster stuck on the wall, an AFP photographer noted.
“Following the report of the investigation into the sexual violence committed by Abbé Pierre, a citizens’ committee will meet soon to decide on the future of the presence of Abbé Pierre on the Fresque des Lyonnais”, indicates a poster affixed to the gray panel.
The decision to cover the tags was taken by the CitéCréation cooperative – owner of the fresco and which has produced several hundred painted walls in France and around the world -, “in connection with the town hall” of Lyon, indicated to the AFP the latter.
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 religious, the painting of the former icon of the fight against poor housing had remained intact, until the damage this weekend.
“The City of Lyon understands the impatience generated by the revelations concerning Abbé Pierre but regrets the degradation of the fresco,” she reacted Monday morning to AFP after the discovery of the tags.
While many cities have already renamed places named in homage to the founder of Emmaus, the question arose for this fresco.
The Lyon town hall had indicated in mid-September that it was “ready to support the removal of Abbé Pierre” from the painted wall, and had supported “CitéCréation’s proposal to install a poster” aimed at informing the public about the process in progress. course.
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.
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