The equestrian statue of Napoleon in Rouen, removed last year to be restored, will return to the forecourt of the town hall, the municipality announced on Monday, which intends to follow the results of a public consultation.
The results of this consultation, which brought together 4,080 voters, show that "
the majority of voters are in favor of the return of the statue of Napoleon to the same place without further change,
" said the city of Rouen in a press release.
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"
We will follow the opinions expressed by the people of Rouen and Rouen, both on the development of the town hall square and its renaturation, the representation of women in the public space as well as on the statue of Napoleon, his return to the place as well as temporary arrangements the time of its restoration
”, reacted the mayor (PS) of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, quoted in the press release.
The dismantling of this statue on July 2, 2020 had sparked a wave of indignation on social networks in particular.
In a tweet, the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Éric Ciotti and future candidate for the LR nomination for the presidential election, had even wrongly accused "
wokism and the deconstruction of our identity in action
", while the monument had been removed for perform a restore.
The mayor of Rouen had proposed to move it after its renovation to install on the town hall square a work of art dedicated to the feminist lawyer Gisèle Halimi.
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According to the results of the consultation, 68% of the 4,080 voters are in favor of the return of the statue of Napoleon to the town hall.
In addition "
38.6% are in favor of the return of Napoleon with a place made for female expression in public space
", adds the municipality.
Called "Et si on statuait", this vote was opened in October.
It focused on redevelopment proposals and also on the place of women in Rouen: to this question 65.6% said they wanted a better place to be given to women in the name of streets, squares and gardens, and 67.10 % with plaques paying homage to women.