Streets, squares, schools… Everywhere in France, the renaming of public places in the name of Abbé Pierre is underway – Libération

The ecclesiastic lent his name to more than 600 places across France. The day after the first revelations of sexual violence, several municipalities began renaming work, which is not always unanimous among local residents.

From his last seven years of life spent in Alfortville (Val-de-Marne), Abbot Pierre left a considerable legacy, which many thought indelible. Five years after his death in 2007, the priest lent his name to a new square in which a commemorative plaque and a bronze bust still stand. A legacy that the city now wants to shed, while the clergyman is accused of sexual violence by more than twenty women. According to the town hall, the process of abandoning the mention of his tutelary figure was started the day after the first revelations. “We immediately spoke with the Emmaüs Foundation with the aim of continuing their name change work and closure of its place of memory in Esteville”, in Normandy, we assure the town hall office (PS), which mentions a work “painful but more than necessary”. A municipal advice