The two activists, members of a nationalist association, were arrested Thursday in Besançon and admitted to having damaged two statues of the artist Ousmane Sow.
Two members of the associationThe Student Roundel“Admitted to being the perpetrators of the damage to the statue of Victor Hugo in Besançon, the prosecution announced on Friday, and face up to 10 years in prison. Prosecuted for “serious damage, in a meeting, to the detriment of a good of public utility, and with a racist purpose“, the two young men aged 20 and 22 will be tried on December 26, said Étienne Manteaux, the public prosecutor of Besançon. “During these three weeks (before the trial, editor’s note), we want to carry out a personality survey to determine who they are and what could have led them to adopt this behavior”, explained Étienne Manteaux.
On Monday, the statue of Victor Hugo, located on the Esplanade des Droits de l’homme in Besançon, was discovered vandalized: a layer of white paint had been deposited on the face of the writer. The statue was being restored, and a controversy had developed over the color, considered too dark by some, of the author’s face, although the restoration was not completed.
“At the initiative of local nationalists, the statue of Victor Hugo (…) has been restored and now sports a beautiful white color, very French, very Besançon, very 19th century”, announced shortly after a message of claim, posted on the website of La Cocarde Étudiante, said Étienne Manteaux. The message was accompanied by several photos, one of which showed a sign with the message “White Powerhanging on the statue. The message was not visible on the website consulted on Friday, but still appeared on certain social networks.
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The statue, inaugurated in 2003, was being restored on Saturday when the local daily, Republican East, referred to the work carried out by the foundry of the Coubertin Foundation, insisting on the colors of the statue, and in particular on the dark aspect of the face, in bronze, writing “Victor Hugo took quite a sunburn“.
Read alsoIn Besançon, the restoration of a statue of Victor Hugo arouses misunderstanding
The daily cited in particular Béatrice Soulé, the artist’s former companion and agent (who died in 2016), joined “in Senegalwho seemed to disapprove of the restoration work carried out. “Looks like a black Victor Hugo, which was never Ousmane’s intention“, she advanced, emphasizing that “the original face was flesh-colored“.
According to Étienne Manteaux, the perpetrators of the damage “challenged any racist purpose to their act“, but said to themselves”bumped intoby the color of the face on the statue they found “too dark“.
The 22-year-old, who admitted to putting the paint on the statue himself and preparing the sign “White Power», is the local manager of the association La Cocarde. A student of history, he said he was a member of the National Front, which became the National Rally, from 2015 to 2021.
The other defendant presented himself as the deputy head of the local branch of the association, and as a former member of the National Rally. He is also a history student.
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