Residents Of Rouen Vote To Return Statue Of Napoleon - Mayor's Office

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2021) A majority of residents in the French city of Rouen voted in favor of returning the equestrian statue of Napoleon to the square in front of city hall, overriding a decision by local authorities to replace it with a monument to a women's rights activist, the mayor's office said on Monday.

The statue of Napoleon was dismantled in July 2020 for restoration. The mayor of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, then proposed not to return the statue to the site, but to replace it with a memorial to feminist icon Giselle Halimi.

The fate of the statue was put to an online referendum, in which more than 4,000 people took part. A majority of the respondents, or 68%, voted in support of the return of Napoleon's statue to its former place.

"In line with our commitment, we will follow the will of the people of Rouen," the mayor's office said in a statement.

The monument to Napoleon in Rouen was erected in 1865. The inscription on the monument says that the bronze for it was cast from cannons taken at the Battle of Austerlitz.