Exiled in a workshop in Yvelines rather than on the island of Elba, the Emperor and his horse return at a gallop, this Thursday, in front of the town hall of Rouen.
Inaugurated in 1865, under the Second Empire, the equestrian statue of Napoleon will be replaced on its base in front of the town hall, after restoration work amounting to more than 280,000 euros, the town hall announced on Wednesday in a press release.
“As we had committed to it from the start of the mandate, we restored the statue of Napoleon for nearly 300,000 euros of public money (…). It is (...) one of the most important investments of the City for its heritage
, recalls the mayor (PS) and president of the Rouen Normandy Metropolis, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol.
The work was launched at the end of August after the discovery of a crack, threatening the stability of the statue, on one of the hind legs of the horse ridden by Napoleon, according to the town hall.
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Following a citizen vote last December, 68% of Rouennais expressed their wish that the statue return to its original place, opposite the Town Hall.
"
The polls have spoken and we can be proud to have carried out this democratic exercise"
, welcomes today Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol.
Return from exile
“
Contrary to the hateful remarks made by some mediocre polemicists,
we are far from a debunking
!”
, laughed Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, returning to the controversy that had shaken the city, before the citizen vote, about this statue that the town hall had considered moving after restoration.
In place of the statue of Napoleon, the municipality had for a time raised the possibility of installing a statue in tribute to the former deputy and feminist activist Gisèle Halimi.
Read alsoIn Rouen, the return without trumpets of Napoleon I
Despite the reinstallation of the equestrian statue of Napoleon by the town hall, the municipal opposition regretted the relative discretion of this return, which will not be the subject of an official ceremony.
Laurent Bonnaterre (Horizons) had thus proposed in vain to organize
"a small
symbolic party", an idea rejected by the municipal team in place
"because we are at the end of July",
confided Monday to
Figaro
Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol.
The elected official also specified that the registration of the statue last December as historical monuments constitutes
“an important step for the preservation and enhancement of this monument”
.
According to the opinion of the heritage architect, the statue as well as the bronze ornaments of the base have been restored by restoring the
"satin black dark patina"
to their original state.
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