The sculpture in tribute to Abdelkader (1808-1883) was vandalized before its inauguration, Saturday February 5, in Amboise (Indre-et-Loire), where the Algerian national hero was detained with several members of his family from 1848 to 1852 An investigation for “ serious damage to property intended for public use and belonging to a public person » has been opened
The work titled Passage Abdelkader and signed by the Touraine artist Michel Audiard, represents the emir cut out of a sheet of rusty steel. It has been largely degraded in the lower part of the structure. If the inauguration of the monument was maintained, the mayor of Amboise Thierry Boutard (DVD) expressed his “ indignation “. “ I was ashamed that we treat a work of art and an artist of this kind. The second feeling is of course outrage. It’s a day of harmony that must unite and such behavior is unspeakable “, he told AFP.
The ” heavy heart »
Ouassila Soum, a 37-year-old Franco-Algerian, said she had ” heavy heart in front of the mutilation. ” It was done with a grinder, they are not children, it is a pity and at the same time it is not surprising with the hate speech, the current nauseating climate “, she added to AFP, seeing in this stele “ a symbol of rapprochement between peoples and civilizations “. The Algerian ambassador to France Mohamed Antar Daoud called for his part to ” more dialogue and understanding “.
► To listen also: Algeria-France: “Abdelkader is the symbol at the heart of the Algerian national narrative”
A survey for serious damage to property intended for public use and belonging to a public person was opened. This one ” was entrusted to the research brigade of Amboise “Said the public prosecutor of Tours Grégoire Dulin. This work for the 60th anniversary of Algeria’s independence was proposed by historian Benjamin Stora in his report on “Memorial questions relating to colonization and the Algerian war”, submitted to Emmanuel Macron in January 2021 .
One ” catwalk man »
Emir Abdelkader ibn Mahieddine (1808-1883) is a figure in the history of Algeria. The one who was nicknamed “the best enemy of France” played a big role in the refusal of the French colonial presence in Algeria. He is considered one of the founders of modern Algeria. After his surrender, he was imprisoned in Pau, Toulon, then in the Château d’Amboise from 1848 until his release in 1852. This ” catwalk man as Benjamin Stora describes it, then went into exile in Damascus, where he distinguished himself in 1860 by defending the Christians of Syria, who were in the throes of persecution. This act will make him a symbol of tolerance. He will be awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. “Emir Abdelkader had several lives. He fought against France, of course, but he was also a friend of France. Those who made this gesture know nothing about the history of France, they are illiterate, uneducated who do not know what the emir was, ”said Benjamin Stora again.
(with AFP)
► Read also: France-Algeria: inauguration in Amboise of a stele in tribute to the Emir Abdelkader