Will the city of Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) be forced by the courts to rename the Négresse district? Following an appeal hearing last Thursday before the administrative court of Bordeaux, the public rapporteur in any case recognized the “insulting connotation” of the term, admitted that it “can harm human dignity”, and recommended abolishing the decision of the administrative court of Pau, which had rejected at first instance the request of the Mémoires & Partages association.
She has been fighting for more than five years to remove this name from the Négresse district, which she considers racist. But on December 21, 2023, the administrative court of Pau rejected his request, indicating that this designation “was certainly derogatory but was not an attack on the dignity of the person”.
“It’s not about denying history”
The director and founder of the association, Karfa Diallo, believes today that “we can rejoice [de l’audience en appel]while remaining cautious. “The fact that the public rapporteur indicated that this designation was not only derogatory but above all offensive to the dignity of the person gives hope as to the next repeal of the deliberations,” he explains. For us, it is not a question of denying History, but of refusing to allow insulting and oppressive names to continue to structure our public space. »
Since a municipal deliberation in 1861, followed by another in 1986, the city of Biarritz has authorized this name for this district and a street, close to the station, referring to a black slave woman, who would have served in an inn in the district at beginning of the 19th century.
-The name “negress” written on numerous signs
The name “negress” is thus found on numerous signs, around ten commercial establishments, the Vinci motorway toll booth and caricatured representations of black women. “Following several vain attempts to solicit the municipality of Biarritz, the Mémoires & Partages network was forced to file an administrative appeal requesting the repeal of the municipal deliberations in question,” recalls the association.
“The persistence of this racist name for this district of Biarritz is an insult to living together and to the recognition of the black component of French history,” the association further believes. The municipality, which had not yet responded this Monday to requests from 20 Minutesbelieves for his part that this term is part of History, and would consider installing a commemorative and explanatory plaque in the neighborhood, to provide educational work.
The Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal will deliver its decision on February 6.
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