The name of Abbé Pierre erased from the streets of Courbevoie. As announced, the mayor (LR) Jacques Kossowski, this Monday evening, submitted to the vote of the municipal council the change of name of the square of the Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church after the deluge of accusations of sexual assault targeting the co-founder of Emmaüs.
Despite the historical link that linked Abbé Pierre to the city – it was from Courbevoie that the man of the Church, invited by his friend Georges Verpraet, wrote his famous appeal made on Radio Luxembourg after the death of a homeless, frozen to death – the elected officials did not hesitate when voting on the deliberation, at the very beginning of the session. Unanimously, they decided to change the name of the square and rename it place of the call of February 1, 1954.
A way of dissociating man from his work? “We can see it like that but I don’t really like this idea,” explains Marie-Pierre Limoge, deputy mayor in charge of early childhood, family, communication and foresight. This name change is above all a way of paying tribute to the incredible outpouring of solidarity from thousands of people who responded to the call. Abbot Pierre was not alone. He was certainly a figure who set the “the” but once again, it is the national momentum that must continue to be commemorated. A lasting momentum to which we subsequently owe the construction of tens of thousands of housing units and even the winter break. »
The square in front of the Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul church is not only changing its name. In the coming hours, the technical services will also dismantle the small memorial marker in memory of Abbot Pierre previously installed on the square. “Keeping the name of Abbé Pierre now seems unthinkable” observes Marie-Pierre Limoge who recalls the unbolting of certain statues in the provinces such as that of the commune of Norges-la-Ville (Côte d’Or).
