“You have to use both hands, otherwise it doesn't bring luck, but bad luck”: tourists accused of having degraded Dalida's status by “touching her breasts too much”

In Montmartre (Paris, Île-de-France), the color of the bronze statue of the singer Dalida stands out at the bust level. The reason: the thousands of tourists who come every year to touch her breasts.

“She is really famous. And we must touch her to have prosperity”

It is a superstition that persists in the capital: touching the chest of the statue of Dalida, located in the 18th arrondissement, is said to bring prosperity and happiness, particularly in love. In any case, this is what a tourist said on BFMTV this Tuesday, November 12. “She is really famous. And we must touch her to have prosperity.” Present at his side, his friend confirms. “We want to accomplish our goals in life”, and touching the statuette's breasts would maximize their chances.

But by dint of “to be groped”, the bust of the statue saw yellow, changing color at the chest. The obvious sign of degradation.

“It’s been going on for 25 years”

Although thousands of tourists touch the bust of the statue each year, many of them admit to being uncomfortable with this “tradition”. “I don't see how touching a breast would bring more love […] Me, I've been with my Valentine for 30 years and I haven't touched Dalida's breasts, nor him.”moreover, retorted a passerby, taken aback by the outrageous behavior of certain visitors, as denounced by a video published on TikTok with more than 500,000 views where the user shows the different visitors taking a photo or video with the statue, pretending to knead Dalida's breasts and proudly taking a photo of themselves with their hands on her chest.

“If Dalida knew… She would have lived to be old, very old”

“It’s been 25 years and I wonder how much longer it can last.”said the author of the video. And at the moment when I have this thought, I hear a tourist guide proclaim “you have to put both hands, otherwise it doesn't bring good luck but bad luck.” […] I tell myself that if Dalida knew that such a spectacle would continue after her suicide, perhaps she would have found the strength to live to be old, very old.”

@nikolaisaoulski If Dalida had known what her effigy was waiting for, she would surely have found the strength to live old, very old… video @NikolaiSaoulski © 2024 #Dalida #FreeDalida #LAutreJour #VideoByNikolaiSaoulski ♬ original sound – Nikolaï Saoulski

For the applied arts teacher and author of the book Musicians' wives are dangerousAnnie Coste, Aslan's sculpture represents the statue in an “offered” posture. “Her eyes are almost closed, her mouth too, and her breasts are very prominent. Everything comes together, everything encourages you to touch her”she analyzes. This deterioration would be indicative of the objectification of women's bodies, she stressed. An opinion shared by comedian Marine Leonardi who took offense on Instagram at these behaviors deemed disturbing and which reflect “the extent to which women's bodies have often become an object”.

“People touched Dalida's breasts so much that now they have a different color. All day long, there are people touching Dalida's breasts. Children, men, women… You're going to tell me 'C 'is a statue, we don't care' but still, it says something, a little, about society 'But yes, Dalida's breasts, go ahead, touch them'. I've never seen anyone stand in front a statue of a valiant knight touching his chest”, she said indignantly in a facecam video seen hundreds of thousands of times.

One last point which is not really true, because, at the Père Lachaise cemetery, touching the crotch of the lying journalist, Victor Noir, would bring fertility and virility. An exercise that, again, thousands of tourists engage in every year. Touching her feet, also coveted by visitors, would ensure them happiness and love.

“Invisible marks”

Very concerned by this phenomenon, Germany launched an awareness campaign on the subject last spring. White signs reading “sexual harassment leaves its mark” were posted behind three statues whose breasts were damaged in the same way as Dalida's. “In our society, it is not uncommon for women's bodies to be touched or kissed without their consent”explained Sina Tonk, project manager of the German non-governmental organization. “If these traumatic experiences do not leave visible traces like the discoloration of statues, they do leave invisible marks.”