French artist Claude Lévêque, 67, is the target of an investigation for rape and sexual assault on minors.
Credit: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP
The Elysée intends to remove a high-profile carpet adorning the French presidential palace as it was designed by a famous Gallic artist who faces charges of rape and sexual assault of a minor, according to the culture minister.
Roseylne Bachelot’s announcement follows press revelations that Claude Lévêque, 67, whose works have been shown in galleries from New York to Paris, is under investigation, accused of repeated rape and sexual abuse in the 1980s when the alleged victim was as young as 10. Lévêque strongly denies the allegations.
Soleil Noir (Black Sun), a wool carpet depicting crystal chandeliers on a black background, adorns an office on the first floor often used by President Emmanuel Macron.
It has been in the hands of the Mobilier National — a public body tasked with furnishing state buildings including the Élysée Palace — since 2007 but only entered the Elysée after Mr Macron’s election in 2017 as part of an upholstery drive overseen by his wife Brigitte.
Speaking to Public Sénat, Ms Bachelot said: “I think that it will very certainly be removed given the symbolic aspect of the French presidency.”
“I am for posing the question,” she went on, pointing out that the town hall of Montreuil outside Paris was also in the process of removing works by the artist. The abbey of Fontevraud in the Maine-et-Loire has also removed a Lévêque work from its permanent art collection during the rape investigation. The president of the region, Christelle Morançais said the removal was a message to say “impunity is over”.
The decision follows a report by Le Monde newspaper this month in which sculptor Laurent Faulon, 51, alleged he was abused by Mr Lévêque from the aged of 10 to 17. Mr Faulon alleged his two brothers were also abused by the artist in the 1980s.
It revealed that an investigation into the allegations has been ongoing since 2019.
While Mr Faulon said the events had probably passed the statutes of limitations, he had done so because other complaints may not and to alert authorities to the fact that “one or several minors are currently in grave danger of sexual abuse if the irreparable hasn’t already been committed".
Lévêque’s lawyer, Emmanuel Pierrat, issued a statement denouncing “grave accusations” and “defamatory and slanderous comments by Laurent Foulon”.
There has been feverish debate in France in recent years over whether artists facing accusations or convicted of rape or sexual assault should be dissociated from their work.
Among the highest-profile recent cases has been that of Roman Polanski, the French-Polish film director wanted in America for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977. He denies any wrongdoing. A decision to award him a César, a French Oscar, last year, for best director prompted angry protests and sections of the audience to walk out.
In recent weeks, France has been gripped by the release of a book in which one of the country’s best-known political scientists, Olivier Duhamel, is accused of raping his stepson when he was 13. The alleged victim filed for charges this week. Mr Duhamel has declined to comment.
Ms Bachelot said she was working on a “global plan” to combat sexual violence and sexism in the arts in France, saying: “One hopes that people will start speaking more freely but the pressure on victims is huge.”
She said that “competition is fierce” in the arts world and that “proximity created by artistic creation can lead to behaviour that is at best inappropriate, at worst criminal”.
Since the MeToo scandal swept the world, France’s music and cinema industries are now obliged to follow strict guidelines to avoid abuse on pain of losing out on state aid. Ms Bachelot said she wanted to extend such rules to the world of publishing and the performing and visual arts.
“Anything that smacks of laxity can no longer be tolerated,” she told AFP. “The word of the victims has been too long overlooked.”
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