The Memory and History Committee drops Bugeaud’s name from a street in Lyon
The “History and Memory Committee” in Lyon, France’s third-largest city, approved by a majority a recommendation to withdraw the name “Rue Bugeaud” from the city, after much debate between supporters and opponents of this decision. The decision was put into effect by the city authorities, who in turn decided to remove this designation amidst political disagreements among elected officials.
The elected and ruling authorities in Lyon (from the Green Party) decided to launch consultations to search for new names for the street, according to “La Tribune de Lyon” on its website on Tuesday, June 23. Opponents criticized the decision for not being subject to consultations, while the committee asserts that a petition was launched against changing the street’s name but only garnered two thousand signatures.
The “History and Memory Committee” based its decision on the history of the French Marshal who was appointed Governor-General of Algeria during the early years of the occupation of Algeria (1841 / 1847 AD), a period characterized by colonial invasion campaigns of Algeria and violent warfare methods against the Algerian population during the nineteenth century.
The committee, consisting of 45 members from universities, institutions, associations, and experts, estimated that honoring Bugeaud by naming a street after him is no longer compatible with “contemporary values” due to his role in the occupation of Algeria and the massacres and widespread brutal repression he committed in Algeria.
The decision came after years of debate and demands from associations and citizens, including associations representing French people of Algerian origin, who believed that continuing to honor Bugeaud represents a disregard for the suffering of Algerians during the brutal colonial era.
The committee held the bloody Marshal responsible for adopting methods of war described as extremely violent against Algerians, as Governor-General of Algeria and a military leader who advocated repressive methods during the war of occupation. Among the most infamous brutal practices associated with his name against unarmed Algerians was burning them in caves after they sought refuge there to escape the brutality of the French occupation army, in massacres that many historians today view as among the cruelest chapters of the colonial war.
The committee also justified its decision by stating that the honor was inconsistent with the committee’s current values, and said that it was “not compatible with contemporary values.” It also considered that continuing to honor this criminal affects a segment of the city’s population (which includes a large Algerian community), and there are French-Algerian associations and civil society organizations that said the presence of Bugeaud’s name in public spaces is viewed by a number of residents, especially those of Algerian origin, as a constant reminder of colonial violence and the suffering of their ancestors, which creates a feeling of exclusion instead of building a shared memory.
In response to those who rejected the decision, the History and Memory Committee of the city of Lyon affirmed that “changing the street’s name does not mean removing Marshal Bugeaud from history books or preventing the study of his biography, but rather it only means ceasing to honor him in the public sphere. History remains in books, universities, and museums, while street names are forms of official recognition and honor”.
The committee also justified its decision by the existence of similar cases, where French cities have begun reviewing the names of figures associated with colonialism, and that the decision is not an exceptional case, as names involved in colonial crimes have been removed in other French cities, followed by a process of explaining and clarifying history.
Meanwhile, opponents of the decision criticized it, believing that changing the street’s name might be understood as removing or hiding a part of history. They suggested keeping the name while adding historical plaques and explanations to clarify Bugeaud’s role in the French colonization of Algeria and the controversy surrounding it, so that people can learn about the historical facts of the French state.
They also expressed their rejection of judging Marshal Bugeaud by present-day standards, and voiced concerns that the process might extend to other historical names.
This decision comes at a time when Algerian-French relations are experiencing a period of calm after nearly two years of an unprecedented political and diplomatic crisis, which can be seen as a gesture from the French side towards Algeria, which has expressed its rejection of addressing the memory file with partial decisions that do not reflect the reality of the horrendous colonial crimes that extended over 132 years.
