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Saint-Raphaël to Unveil France’s First Monument to Victims of Communism on Saturday

The plan has drawn sharply divided reactions over how France should remember the victims of communist rule.

Image
Frederic Masquelier, à Chamonix, le 27 septembre 2019.
Le monument fait référence à la chute du mur de Berlin.

Overview

  • City officials have scheduled the ceremony for August 23 at Parc Beaurivage, aligning it with Europe’s day of remembrance for victims of totalitarian regimes.
  • Mayor Frédéric Masquelier of Les Républicains, known for high-profile commemorations, frames the memorial as honoring “forgotten” victims and as a first of its kind in France.
  • Local representatives of the French Communist Party condemn the project as “rocambolesque et désastreux.”
  • PCF senator Ian Brossat, writing in L’Humanité, argues the initiative seeks to obscure the far right’s collaborationist past and to silence criticism of capitalism.
  • Right-leaning outlet Contrepoints defends the monument, accuses the PCF of minimizing communist crimes, and calls the move a necessary break with a memorial taboo.