Should we be erasing Abbé Pierre’s name for good?
The erasing has begun: the Fondation Abbé Pierre has decided to change its name. Emmaüs has closed the memorial dedicated to him in Esteville, near Rouen, and is going to change its logo. But beyond that, a vast name change movement has been launched across the country. Is it necessary? Is anything else possible?
Abbé Pierre has left his name –or that of his birth Henri Grouès– on some 300 streets, 150 roads, some twenty squares and parks, schools and colleges, bus stops, commemorative plaques, etc. And in nearly 600 locations across France!
In Alfortville, on the outskirts of Paris, where the founder of Emmaüs spent the last years of his life, the mayor has wasted no time in announcing that Abbé Pierre Square will be called Joséphine Baker square. And the bust of the priest will be replaced by a statue of the singer.
As things stand, the name and face of one of the most important French figures of the post-war period will have disappeared completely in a few months’ time.
Sic transit gloria mundi. Thus the glory of the world passes by.
Have we ever seen such a wave of disaffection?
Never. This is unprecedented. During his lifetime Marshal Pétain had a few avenues which were subsequently renamed De Gaulle or Libération, once the occupier had been defeated. Another marshal will also be losing his avenue in Paris: Bugeaud, the bloodthirsty conqueror of Algeria.
But there is nothing on a par with the generous, popular figure of Abbé Pierre, a great general in the war against poverty. In his Mythologies of 1957, Roland Barthes writes that his face, beard and haircut resemble those of sainthood. He is compared with Francis of Assisi. For 16 years he was crowned the favourite personality of the French. We celebrated and commemorated him. RTL turned him into a source of pride for his appeal in the winter of 1954 on Radio Luxembourg.
Less than a year ago, over 800,000 viewers were captivated by the second feature film dedicated to this exceptional man who devoted his life to the poor. The title: Une vie de combats (A Century of Devotion). The character played by Benjamin Lavernhe made it clear that chastity was difficult for him. But, …
But that was before his true face was revealed. Before we discovered that the hero is a bastard. Or more precisely, that the hero is also a bastard. That the good little man lived with a huge dirty old man. The abundance of evidence and testimonies, those of some twenty women, leaves no room for doubt.
The terrible thing is that Abbé Pierre was also a great resistance fighter and a saviour of the Jews. And it was because he was an icon that he was able to commit horrors and get away with it. Untouchable and abhorrent.
So, should he be erased from the public space?
Unfortunately, what else is there to do? This does not mean pretending he did not exist. Abbé Pierre remains a historical figure, admirable in many respects. But he can no longer be honoured, he can no longer be a role model, he himself has sullied the name which henceforth will not appear on any façade. Which is fortunate for the victims. And infinitely sad for our common history.
(“L’Edito politique” by Patrick Cohen on the FRANCE INTER radio channel, 12 September 2024)
I endorse the comments from start to finish. I would not leave anything out, but I would venture to add two brief footnotes:
1) I wonder whether any of the great figures of humanity throughout history could be held up as a role model if we knew ‘the whole truth about them’. Which makes our common history even sadder.
2) However, I cannot but remind myself once again of what Brother Francis of Assisi said about himself, according to his first biographer, Thomas of Celano, who knew him in person: “It seems to me that I am the greatest of sinners, for, if God had been as merciful with a criminal as he has been with me, the criminal would be ten times more spiritual than I am.” Where it says sinner, put, if you want: criminal, rapist, murderer… or sick person. And where it says God, put, if you want: life, chance, necessity, destiny… But as I see it, saying God is a way of affirming that neither humanity nor anything else in the world is condemned.