The Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal orders Biarritz to rename the district of “La Negresse” pointing a name “affected by human dignity”. The town hall opposes it with a precise argument.
Justice has decided: Biarritz will have to rename the district of “La Negresse”. A request made by anti-racist organizations since 2013, including the association Memoirs and Shares which denounces a “racist and sexist nickname”, but still ignored until Thursday, February 6 and the decision of the administrative court of appeal Bordeaux. “Whatever the supposed origin of this appellation and its historical dimension claimed by the commune of Biarritz, the term ‘The negress’ evokes today, in a devaluing way, the racial origin of a woman whose identity n ‘has not been formally identified, “said the court in a press release.
This name given to a district of Biarritz is “likely to harm the dignity of the human person” and can be perceived by the population “as comprising an offensive character with regard to people of African origin”, adds the court. Thus, justice enjoins the mayor of Biarritz, Maïder Arosteguy (LR), to seize the municipal council within three months to make a change of name. The district of “La Negresse” could then regain its name of Basque origin – Harausta – or take another name.
A victory for the Bordeaux association Memoirs and Shares which had first requested the mayor and the administrative court of Pau, in vain, to rename the district. But the legal battle could continue since the councilor Maïder Arosteguy plans to file an appeal in cassation before the Council of State. “We think about it, but I think we will try to convince justice to change its decision,” she said on Bfmtv.
A local legend behind the name of the Biarritz district?
The mayor of Biarritz says he regrets the decision of the Bordeaux Court of Appeal and wishes to keep the name of the district of “La Négresse” which, she assures it, has “no racist connotation”: “It is a name historical, many biarrots are attached to it “she insisted on Bfmtv. And the elected to invoke a biarrote legend: “This character is an urban legend, the symbol of a woman who freed himself from her shackles, who rebelled against the status of slave. There is indeed Sure people who are shocked but these are people who do not know the history of the city, our culture, our traditions “.
The founder of Memoirs and Shares, Karfa Diallo, had indicated in mid-January knowing this legend according to which the name “La Negresse” would refer to the nickname of an innkeeper in the district, black skin, from the early 1800s. It does not mean that he supports it: “Since the end of the 19th century, a black woman has been thrown into pasture, it is not eligible. One cannot believe that it is a tribute addressed to this woman. There is a lot of bad faith in this case, “he launched France 3,, in mid-January.
The lawyer for the town hall of Biarritz had denounced an anachronistic trial in mid-January. “When this term appears in the city of Biarritz at the beginning of the 18th century, it has no pejorative or insulting value. It is a term which etymologically designates people of black color. It will not have its insulting sense, which is not discussed, that later, “he declared to France 3. He also mentioned the idea of the town hall to add a commemorative plaque to explain the origin of the name of the neighborhood.