⌂ Home News Alfred Dreyfus Statue Finally Secures Permanent Central Paris Location

Alfred Dreyfus Statue Finally Secures Permanent Central Paris Location

Alfred Dreyfus Statue Finally Secures Permanent Central Paris Location
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After four decades of constant relocation, the bronze statue of Captain Alfred Dreyfus has secured a permanent home in central Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire will unveil the monument on July 12.

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The 3.5-meter statue will stand on Rue de Harlay on the Île de la Cité, directly in front of the cour de cassation, France's highest civil court.

The court officially exonerated Dreyfus of all treason charges on July 12, 1906.

French authorities twice blocked the statue from standing at l'École Militaire, where the Jewish officer was wrongfully stripped of his rank in 1894 due to antisemitism.

Officials also rejected a proposal to place the 1985 monument opposite the Palais de Justice.

Overcoming Decades of Official Resistance

Ariel Weil, mayor of Paris Central and a descendant of the Dreyfus family, noted that past authorities preferred to keep the controversial statue out of public sight.

"It's been wandering around Paris for years," Weil said.

"The general idea seemed to be: we'll put it in a corner of Paris where it won't embarrass anyone and won't be seen and we can forget about it."

The statue was previously hidden in temporary locations across the River Seine and the Tuileries garden.

The Dreyfus affair remains an impactful political crisis that nearly collapsed the Third Republic. The military forged evidence to convict Dreyfus of passing secrets to Germany.

K
Editors Team
Author: Kenes Jatmika
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