Avignon: A drawing of a kitten replaced the anti-Semitic fresco with Jacques Attali
An XXL fresco representing a kitten has replaced the anti-Semitic fresco with Jacques Attali which appeared last June on the wall of a parking lot in Avignon (Vaucluse), France Bleu Vaucluse reported last week.
“Cute kitten interlude” is written on the fresco by the artist Sock, originally from Avignon, referring to the painting that had created the controversy.
The painter confirmed that he had come to respond to a request from the Vaucluse prefecture. However, the local authorities did not deny carrying out this order.
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The fresco dating from June, entitled “The Beast 2” and is done by the graffiti artist “Lekto”, providing Emmanuel Macron as a puppet manipulated by the economist Jacques Attali, who is Jewish, thus taking up the old anti-Semitic clichés seeing the Jews as a leader the world. It had finally been erased, covered with white paint, and the drawing of the kitten from the last few days came to cover this layer.
As soon as photos of the painting with Jacques Attali were published on social networks, several Jewish associations, political leaders and Internet users denounced the anti-Semitic and conspiratorial nature of the painting and demanded its removal.
Freedom of expression and irony: a graffiti artist from Avignon replaces the anti-Semitic fresco with a cute kittenhttps://t.co/VHS74ER20t
— France Bleu Vaucluse (@bleuvaucluse) August 19, 2022
Initially, the town hall of Avignon had requested the erasure of the painting from Grand Avignon, owner of the building on which it was painted, in the parking lot of the Italians.
But Grand Avignon and the city of Avignon had finally revealed that “everyone could interpret the image as they wish, since there are no words on this wall”, and that there was therefore no instead of deleting it. Grand Avignon and the city said they “want to respect freedom of expression in this way”, while the fachosphere applauded the decision.
Finally, the anti-Semitic fresco had been covered with paint by young people from the city, then had finally been erased in the rules of the art, and covered with white, by a company mandated by the Grand Avignon.
Contacted by AFP, the Avignon prosecutor’s office did not wish to comment on this case and confirm or deny the possible opening of legal proceedings – no prosecution has been announced against the graffiti artist.