Between the city of Lyon – his hometown – and the Abbé Pierre, nothing is going well. After the municipality, which announced on September 19 that ” withdraw “ his name from the public space to the “following serious and numerous accusations of sexual assault”his portrait painted in the Fresque des Lyonnais was defaced.
A journalist from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) pointed out, on Monday, September 30, that the word “rapist” It has been labeled with capital letters and that red paint blocks Abbé Pierre’s eyes. The red paint blindfold was drawn on Saturday, and the word written in black capital letters, underlined by an arrow directed towards Abbé Pierre, was written during the night from Sunday to Monday. On Monday afternoon, the labels and the top half of the portrait were covered by a large square gray poster taped to the wall, an AFP photographer noted.
The future of the portrait will be decided soon
“Following the report of the investigation into the sexual violence committed by Abbé Pierre, a committee of citizens will meet soon to decide on the future of Abbé Pierre’s presence in the Fresque des Lyonnais”indicates a sign attached to the gray panel. The decision to cover the labels was made by the CitéCréation cooperative – owner of the fresco and which has made several hundred painted walls in France and around the world – “in relation to the city council” from Lyon, the latter announced to AFP.
The Fresque des Lyonnais is a trompe l’oeil painted on a six-story building depicting the famous, historic and contemporary Lyonnais, the latter depicted on the ground floor of the building. The full-length portrait of Henri Grouès, known as Abbé Pierre, born in Lyon, joins those of chef Paul Bocuse, writer Frédéric Dard and director Bertrand Tavernier. Since the revelations of sexual assaults against nuns, the painting of the former icon of the fight against precarious housing remained intact until the damage that occurred this weekend.
“The city of Lyon understands the impatience generated by the revelations about Abbé Pierre, but regrets the deterioration of the fresco”reacted to AFP on Monday morning following the discovery of the labels. While many cities have already renamed places named in honor of the founder of Emmaus, the question arose about this fresco.
The Lyon city council reported in mid-September that it was “Willing to support the withdrawal of Abbé Pierre” of the painted wall, and had supported “CitéCréation’s proposal to place a poster” intended to inform the public about the ongoing process.
In France, some 150 roads or towns are named after Abbé-Pierre or Henri-Grouès, according to an AFP count carried out in mid-September using the national address database.
