The information is totally improbable and comes from the Figaro. Nothing seems to shake Jeanne d’Arc in Nice. Not even an administrative judgment. Installed on October 23 in front of the Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc church, the monumental statue of the “Maid of Orléans” has become the epicenter of a political-judicial battle between Mayor Christian Estrosi and Prefect Hugues Moutouh.
The controversy started with the public procurement process, which was carried out without any publicity or competition. This irregularity led the prefect to take the matter to court. The administrative court's verdict on January 14: the contract is annulled, the statue must be dismantled, and the Missor workshop, responsible for its creation, must refund the 170,000 euros received. However, instead of backing down, the city hall...
has decided to... concretize the situation. Literally.
A statue literally anchored in the ground of Nice
This Monday, instead of seeing Joan of Arc dismantled, the people of Nice discovered a new base reinforced with a layer of concrete, as if to anchor the statue permanently in place. A strong response to the prefect’s order, who had demanded that the city carry out the judicial decision “without delay.” In the face of this move, as symbolic as it is provocative, Hugues Moutouh remains (for now) calm, merely reminding that the community must comply with the law.
Christian Estrosi, on the other hand, is undeterred. He denounces an attack on “a historical figure of the nation,” and loudly proclaims that Joan of Arc will remain where she is. “The ones trying to topple our great national destiny can move along,” he declares.
t-il, ironic. His deputy Gaël Nofri hammers the point home: « The statue belongs to this square, to this church, to this neighborhood », defending a work that the city is determined to protect at all costs.A Totally Crazy Tangle
On its side, the Missor workshop, already weakened by the situation, is fighting for its survival. The artistic collective has appealed the judgment and launched an online fundraiser to cover the 170,000 euros demanded. A call for donations that the town hall is promoting, rallying citizens and local figures, even Prince Joachim Murat, a descendant of Napoleon, who proudly calls himself a "Gaullo-Bonapartist." By Wednesday, the fundraiser had reached 50,000 euros, far from the hoped-for amount.
The story of Joan of Arc is filled with battles, and it seems that Nice's is just beginning. Will the statue stand firm against the justice system, or will it eventually buckle under the weight of administrative decisions? Stay tuned.
Source : Le Figaro
