MOn Friday, a statue of Abbot Pierre in Norges-la-Ville was unbolted. “There was no debate,” summarized Denis Mailler, the mayor of the town of 940 inhabitants, north of Dijon. The municipal council ratified the unbolting of the statue last week, “by a unanimous vote,” according to him.
The life-size resin sculpture was installed in 2013 on a pedestal, a few steps from the town hall, in homage to the founder of Emmaüs.
The association has its second largest community in Norges, with accommodation for 120 people in precarious situations, as well as a large consignment shop and a recycling centre.
“We couldn’t do otherwise. The reason is obvious,” explained the mayor in an allusion to the series of testimonies from women accusing Abbé Pierre of sexual violence, between the 1950s and the 2000s.
“It’s a sadness because, for me, Abbé Pierre represented a lot. He was a symbol. A symbol that falls,” added Mr. Mailler, shortly before the statue was dismantled and taken to the village’s municipal workshops. “We’ll see what we do with it,” said the mayor.
The Emmaüs centre in Norges agrees: “This is not a problem for us,” its president told AFP. “We are an Emmaüs community, not the Abbé Pierre community. That is the responsibility of the town hall.”
“I was warned and I accepted this decision without problem,” reacts Yves Roulleau, the visual artist who created the statue. “At the time, France was in shock at his disappearance (of Abbé Pierre). After the revelations, it is quite different,” he adds, even recommending to “destroy” his work, a decision that belongs to the municipal council.
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