A statue of Senegalese artist Ousmane Sow, located in a public park in Besançon, has been degraded for the second time, the town hall announced on Wednesday, adding that a complaint had been filed. The work called L’Homme et l’Enfant was covered in red paint. The author(s) drew on this bronze sculpture a circled “A”, symbolizing anarchy.
Passers-by who were walking in the park on Wednesday morning warned the town hall, whose official came to see the damage. The city’s technical services quickly repaired the work. “The Man and Child statue by Ousmane Sow has been further damaged. These acts are inadmissible. We filed a complaint this morning and will continue to do so systematically, ”reacted the EELV mayor of Besançon, Anne Vignot, on social networks.
Located in a public park opposite Besançon station, the creation of the now deceased artist had already been degraded a few months ago. The perpetrator(s) could not be identified. Another statue of Ousmane Sow, representing Victor Hugo, had also been defaced in Besançon at the end of November 2022. Two history students had covered the face of the statue with white paint, before affixing a sign to it bearing the words “White Power (“white power”) and a Celtic cross.
Aged 20 and 22, they were sentenced in February to 140 hours of community service. In addition, these two former members of the National Rally, one of whom had tried to be a candidate for deputy, had been sentenced to two years of ineligibility.