Rouen. Vote around the statue of Napoleon: “We have moved the lines”, says Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol
Through Fabien Massin
Published on
The result of the online vote was clear: 68% of participants from Rouen expressed their wish to see the statue of napoleon return to its initial base, in front of the town hall of Rouen (Seine-Maritime). A vote which gathered more than 4,000 votes and which focused more broadly on the future of the Place du Général-de-Gaulle (future developments, greening, equipment, etc.).
The Rouennais attaches to the statue of Napoleon
From the start, in September 2020, the mayor of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol had shown his preference: take advantage of the restoration of the statue to build instead the representation of another figure, female. And he had proposed the name of Gisèle Halimi, lawyer and French feminist activist. While bringing back the statue, once restored, elsewhere in the city. The Rouen people have decided otherwise … But then, all that for that?
“I do not feel in any case to marry by the result, assures Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol. We moved the lines, I’m very proud to have done that. “Regarding the result of the vote, he sketches an analysis:” The result is complex, there are multiple reasons. There are supporters of Napoleon, and other people who hate him as well. I do not judge. “
But there are also a lot of people who have asked for the statue to stay there because they have always seen it there, out of emotional attachment, because they have experienced things here. I have heard it all.
In addition, concerning the image of the emperor, the mayor met ahead of a year of debates and conferences, “very interesting moments, with different people, which made it possible to bring a little history and education, unrelated to the Zemmour polemics ”.
Participative democracy
But for Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, the essence of the approach is actually found elsewhere, in “the exercise of democracy and the question of the place of women in the public space”, two potential points he expresses his ” pride “.
“We may find that this is not enough, but 4,000 voters – out of an electoral body of 56,000 people, and not 110,000, as I have heard – it is the highest participation that he there has never been any participatory democracy in Rouen. I’m just saying it in the form of a tease, it’s more than the score of Jean-Louis Louvel and Jonas Haddad, or of Marine Caron [NDLR : lors des élections municipales de 2020]. “
Place of women in public space
And on the question of the representation of women, the mayor of Rouen is delighted with another result: 65.6% of voters want “a better place for women in the public space”. “Our feminization of public spaces is comfortable and we are going to amplify it. I think that renaming the station “Palais de justice” “Palais de justice -Gisèle Halimi” would have been more difficult a year ago. “
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