The mayor of a town in France has thrown a patriotic
female statue out of his town hall because its breasts were too
big, his aides said on Friday.
The terracotta bust of Marianne -- the traditional female
embodiment of the French Republic in a Phrygian cap -- was an
original work by a local artist, installed in 2007 at the town hall
in Neuville-en-Ferrain, population 10,000.
"It was making people gossip," said one town hall employee who
asked not to be named. "Remarks were made, during weddings for
example."
Mayor Gerard Cordon persuaded councillors to approve 900 euros
(1,280 dollars) in this year's budget to buy a replacement, a more
conventional bust of Marianne modelled on the statuesque French
model Laetitia Casta.
The artist who made the rejected bust, Catherine Lamacque, said
she gave it outsized breasts deliberately, "to symbolise the
generosity of the Republic."
The town hall bought her terracotta statue in 2007 for 1,400
euros.
"The mayor has had it under his nose for several years. He chose
it from among other designs even before I baked it," she told
AFP.
"His decision is absurd. I only hope he will not have it
destroyed."
Another town hall official who asked not to be named said he
regretted the bust's removal, which was done "not by a joint
decision but by the mayor alone."
"It was a unique work," he said. "After all, Marianne is a
symbol of motherhood."