The entrance to a skatepark alludes to the Auschwitz camp: the association recognizes “blunders”

The skatepark of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, in Savoie, finds itself at the heart of a controversy due to a gantry installed at its entrance, resembling that of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The installation was quickly removed. The association behind the project recognizes “blunders”.

The scrap metal gantry marked the entrance to the brand new skatepark in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (Savoie). We could read the inscription “Yachting Club Mauriennais”, the name of the group behind this skatepark, entirely designed and built by volunteers.

But a few days after the inauguration of the largest skatepark “handmade” of France, the pediment was dismantled because of its resemblance to that of the Auschwitz concentration camp, we learned from the mayor of the town, confirming initial information from the Dauphiné Libéré.

“We resolved the problem as quickly as possible. There is no subject, we cannot take the risk of hurting people”assures Philippe Rollet, mayor (without label) of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, who claims to have discovered the portico on the day of the inauguration, September 14.

Except that the installation has since been pinned by “Balance ton anti-Semite”, a blog which claims to fight “against online hatred”denouncing the “apologies for Nazism” of this place. Jérémy Durand, at the origin of the skatepark project, explained himself in a long publication on his Facebook account on October 15.

In particular, he reveals the inscription which was originally supposed to appear on the portico: “Skaten macht frei” (skateboarding sets you free), an assumed reference to the inscription at the entrance to the Auschwitz camp “Arbeit macht frei” (work sets you free).

A “bad taste joke”writes the project manager, for which he wanted “apologize (…) to people who were sincerely offended by the lack of judgment we showed.”

“Skateboarding makes you free. I don’t see what’s wrong with that”questions Thierry Laporte, the president of the Skate and Create association of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, who participated in the creation of the skatepark.

“We must not confuse the use of Nazi iconography and anti-Semitism”also responds Jérémy Durand, interviewed by France 3 Alpes, claiming to have used this iconography because it “struck”.

“We put an upside down cross a few years ago in this same skatepark, for the same reasons, and we had no problem. No one called us Satanists or conspiracy theoristscontinues Jérémy Durand. So why should we make differences between communities?”

Thierry Laporte recognizes “clumsiness”whose typography “S” is similar to the acronym “SS” of the Nazi regime, but speaks of a “provocation” specific to the world of skateboarding and the world of metal music. “The goalhe said, it was to show a form of revenge of life on this episode of history (…) in a place where everyone can come, whatever their convictions, their origins or their religion.”

The mayor of the town and the association say they regret this controversy which, according to them, does not reflect the spirit of the place. “We know the skateboarding world which is often provocative. But I must say that I have never heard an anti-Semitic remark from (the participants in the project). No one has ever been refused on the site”assures Philippe Rollet, however condemning the Facebook publication of the project manager which he describes as“inexcusable”.

I cannot bear to see anyone tarnishing the hundreds of volunteers who worked on this project.

Thierry Laporte, president of the Skate and Create association

“He acknowledged the facts in this post by apologizing but giving conspiratorial arguments and accumulating anti-Jewish attacks against Gabriel Attal and the political world”can we read on the blog “Balance ton anti-Semite” which asks “the closure of this horror skatepark”.

Jérémy Durand replies that he does not “no lessons to be learned”. “If you don’t agree with the general movement, you are immediately considered anti-Semitic, conspiratorial, etc. It’s easier to close the debate when you don’t have a valid argument”he believes.

The mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne emphasizes that the project manager in question does not exercise responsibilities within the association, which notably gives skateboarding lessons to young people. “If some were injured, I can understand it, (…) but I cannot bear to see the hundreds of volunteers who worked on this project tarnished”regrets Thierry Laporte.

The municipality and those responsible for the project now wish to turn the page, seeking to refocus attention on the usefulness of the equipment, and not on the controversies of the past.