Pascal Blache, mayor of the 6th arrondissement of Lyon.
The mayor of the 6th arrondissement opposes the change of name of rue Bugeaud in Lyon.
This is a slippery subject that the environmentalist mayor of Lyon has ventured into. A few weeks after a municipal council during which he announced the creation of a body to consider renaming streets, or providing contextual elements, the councilor went further by affirming to be in favor of changing the name of the rue Bugeaud, author of massacres in Algeria and symbol of colonialism.
Read also: Lyon: Grégory Doucet says he is in favor of renaming rue Bugeaud
“A subjective rewriting of French history”
In a press release released Thursday, December 19, Les Républicains mayor of the 6th arrondissement, Pascal Blache, expressed his opposition to such a measure. “This initiative opens the door to a subjective rewriting of French history“, considers the city councilor who believes that “this sterile controversy over a street name appears to be a sterile and costly diversion“.
The mayor points the finger at the “significant expenses“what would such a change imply, linked to the modification of street signs, the updating of administrative documents or even the communication and information of residents. And Pascal Blache concludes: “If we give in today, other historical figures could suffer the same fate, threatening the balance between memory and context.“
The councilor does not, however, say what his position would be regarding the installation of a plaque to put the historical figure of Bugeaud into context, as the town hall wishes to do for Place Blandan in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon.
Read also: Bugeaud, Sergeant Blandan… The City of Lyon in “consideration” to rename streets
