Statue location was ‘tactless’
A mairie has agreed to move a Virgin Mary statue which it installed on a street with a name meaning Prostitute Path
THE mairie of Cogolin in the Var has admitted a lack of tact after it installed a statue of the Virgin Mary on a street with a name meaning “Prostitute Path”.
Mayor Jacques Sénéquier agreed to move the bronze statue after residents of the village near Saint-Tropez complained at the choice of Chemin de la Radasse, a term which in southern slang means prostitute.
Mr Sénéquier said he had not paid attention to the name. “When I took up my post and discovered this statue in an old hangar, I thought it was a shame,” he said. “So I had it installed near to the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption [Our Lady of the Assumption] school, which I thought was appropriate.”
The statue originated from the family tomb of a notable local family, located on their property. After the mairie acquired the site it had put the statue into storage after demolishing the tomb.
The statue has now been placed on the Chemin Notre-Dames des Anges [Our Lady of the Angels], which the mayor said was “more suitable”.
The word “radasse” derives from “rade”, which has several meanings including “pavement”, with the ending “-asse”, which is usually derogatory.
