Ideas for a new statue in Riom!

Guillaume & Hugo: 

If we could make a new statue for Riom, we would choose to do a bust of Jules Ferry, and we would put it in front of a school in Riom. It would remind us, the pupils, that we have an extraordinary opportunity to go to school, because, still today, a lot of children cannot go to school and learn. The bust would be about 50cm high and be entirely made of marble, and placed on a 1,5m high pedestal. It is important to remember that Jules Ferry made school compulsory and free for all children, so we would like the remarkable story of Jules Ferry to be written on the pedestal.

Ronan & Léo:

The egg is the symbol of life and the crack represents the pain of birth. We would like to place this egg next to the sculpted column in the Pré-Madame square in front of the women’s prison. It’s an area that many people pass through. There is a space there which corresponds perfectly to the dimensions of the egg…

Axel & Mattis:
Our statue is called “Deity.” The figure is dark blue and there’s a big green flower with stars inside it. The stars represent the sky (that’s where the deity lives) and the flower symbolizes life. This statue will be eight meters tall and situated in front of our school. We would like this statue to be put up because Riom is a religious city, but also a city which needs more contemporary public sculptures. It will bring a bit of colour to our streets. It might attract a few visitors too!

Alexandre & Clémence:
A man, wearing a jacket and a helmet, is coming out from the ground… He’s in fact a miner coming out of his mine. He is smiling because he is happy. He is lost in thought, his head resting on his crossed arms. A miner is normally sad because his life is not easy, he has to work very hard, but when he comes out of the mine, he is pleased. This sculpture symbolizes how, thanks to our imagination, we can escape the daily grind…

Héloïse & Lise:

Once upon a time, a valiant knight called Amable fought bravely on the back of his trusty steed during a battle against the Swiss. During the fight, Amable was seriously wounded in the leg. However, in spite of his wound, he had the strength to reach a church. There, the priest who looked after him wanted to thank him for having pushed away the enemy. So he transformed Amable’s horse into a magnificent winged unicorn! Our equestrian statue, made, of course, from white marble, will be placed on top of the oversized Four Seasons fountain to make it a bit more fun!

Annaëlle & Alice:
Our statue, called  “The Protecting Angel,” would be located above a church in Riom. Angels are the messengers of God; they are intermediaries between men and God. Our angel looks like a young child. He is here to look after us. He is on top of a church because he is a link between men and God. He is both close to us and above us. He is a symbol of God’s love. His wings represent his heavenly nature. His arms are directed towards the sky because he is imploring God on our behalf.

Coline & Roxanne:

If we could have a new statue for Riom made, it would be a sculpture recounting our town’s rich history because there are not so many people who know it. It would be in the Musée Mandet courtyard because this museum is a part of the town’s heritage itself and it is of course a place filled with historically significant artefacts. There used to be a fountain in the courtyard, but now it is rather empty… Our sculpture would be placed on two big rectangular black carved Volvic stones. Apart from the man who is smoking, it would be made of a dark metal, and the crown of a clearer metal. The train would also be made of metal. All the rest would be made of stone. Here are the different elements: the Auvergne coat of arms (Riom is an important town of the region); statue of the local Saint Amable; a crown because the town belonged to the King of France from the 16th century; a man smoking because in 1883 an important tobacco manufacture was set up in Riom (near the train station); the coat of arms of the town; a halberd  to symbolize Riom’s medieval past; RICOMAGNUS, meaning “rich market,” was the first name of Riom (created in 50 BC); a train because a railway line came to Riom in 1855; Saint Amable Basilica, the main church; the “Tour de l’Horloge”, built in 1391, an emblematic building of Riom.

Pierre & Margot:

We would like a big statue, with geometric shapes and a lot of colour in Riom. The statue would bring happiness and colour in the town. It would be at the centre of the city because most of the buildings are very dark there. I think the best place for it is at the intersection of Rue Saint Amable and Rue du Commerce. Like that, it would mark the centre of Riom and everybody could see it.

Juliette & Eva:

We are against racism and we wanted to represent this in a statue. There will be a black hand (in bronze) which will hold a white hand (in white marble). It will represent equality between Whites and Blacks. The pedestal will also be made of those two materials. This statue will be exposed in the Town Hall courtyard because it’s the place which represents the best liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Jean & Marien:
Our sculpture, "The Power of Knowledge," shows a weapon which breaks out of a book. It would be made of marble and would be 3m tall, and the base 4,5m wide. It would be placed on a pedestal. "Knowledge is a powerful weapon," would be written on it. We want to symbolise the power of knowledge: in our society, knowledge is very easy to find but also to hide and has an impact on economics as well as  politics. I added a sword to show that information can also be lethal. We would place our sculpture at the centre of the roundabout near the Pierre Robin stadium; there's a lot of traffic in that area, so many people would be able to admire it...

Clément, François & Corentin:
A thing that means as much to us as to Raoul Mabru is the damages of war and fights. An event that took place a year ago: the intervention of French soldiers in Mali to fight against terrorists. Those brave soldiers gave their lives in a very noble way, like Marinette Menut and other Résistance fighters of WW2. Marinette Menut gave her life to save her own Nation; the French soldiers in 2014 gave their lives for another Nation, and that makes their gesture even more beautiful, because, besides their bravery, there were generous too. This monument would sit in a square of Riom where everybody would see it. Although on the above photo the monument is shown in Mali to signify the place where those horrors happened, we would place this monument next to the commemorative monument to Marinette Menut. There is a soldier in the centre. On a big banner, you can see the inscription: “CAMP CBA Damien BOITEUX” and a red, white and blue logo. The word “Boiteux” refers to someone hurt who can hardly walk, because of an injury to his leg. And it gives a clearer meaning to the picture: French soldiers accepted to go to a foreign country to stop terrorism at the risk of their lives.

Quentin & Mathis:

We would not make a statue of a person because that is too ordinary. We would make something big to show power, for example a tower or a big Volvic stone structure to evoke the Auvergne region. We have no precise idea of what are sculpture would look like yet, and we would undoubtedly modify it during its construction! We would place it on a roundabout on Desaix boulevard because everybody who enters Riom passes that way.

Maylis, Lisa & Albane:

These are statues of a unicorn and a griffin. They guard the entrance gates of a totally unknown country called Rions! Only magical animals are able to survive there...

Lucas & Emma:

We would like a sculpture to be put up at the Cerey, close to the football pitch, because there are no statues there yet. A big soccer ball would be a good idea; it must have a lot of colours like a real soccer ball.

Clément & Amaury:
France recently paid tribute to the people involved in the Résistance: Pierre Brossolette, Germaine Tillion, Jean Zay and Geneviève De Gaulle Anthonioz were placed in the Panthéon. We think Riom should also honor its own hero: Marinette Menut. She was a pharmacist in Riom in 1939 and showed great courage in helping free prisoners. She deserves a statue; it would stand on a pedestal and she would carry a flag of France in her right hand to symbolize her patriotism and her determination. The statue would obviously be situated on the Marinette Menut square.

Tom & Enguerrand:

To honour Vercingetorix, the leader of the Gauls, we want to make a giant statue of his helmet. But this statue isn’t commonplace: it can be moved around! The base of the statue and the helmet are made of wood. The statue would be about 5m high. The wings would be in rusty iron to show that the helmet is worn. It would be pulled by horses from Riom’s Virlogeux square to the Gergovia plateau during a procession. People will be dressed in Gallic costume. At Gergovia there will be a large banquet and the showing of an Asterix film!

Simon & Hugo:

For the next Riom music festival, we want to make a fun, hands-on, sculpture relating to music. We want to create a big version an old gramophone: a turntable topped with a bell to amplify the sound. We would use the original colors and materials (wooden base and structure, copper bell, vinyl record, iron reading arm and crank). The base would measure 2m², approximately 1,5m high, 2m in diameter for the record, the bell would be 2m tall with a 2m-wide opening. A mechanism would be installed to allow the record to turn. People would be allowed to turn the crank to work the playing mechanism. A Ray Charles song could then be heard… The idea of our sculpture is to remind people of the beginnings of recorded music.

Monument Marinette Menut

Clément CHENEVIER, Corentin ARNOULT & François ROULLAUD write...

This monument is situated on Marinette Menut square in Riom. It is a very austere rectangular stone with no colour.

Five naked people are shown. Their eyes are closed and they look very sad. They appear to be prisoners who have suffered some form of violence. There are three adults, a boy, hands tied, and a baby, asleep in the arms of one of the adults (it’s difficult to see if it’s a man or a woman). One of the men is on his knees, looking upwards, perhaps at his jailer. The cringing older man seems to be hurt.

Around the monument, a metal fence, 50 centimetres high, looks like barbed wires.

Below, there is a plaque to commemorate the bravery of all the resistance martyrs, asking us not to forget the horrors perpetrated during the Nazi occupation of France: “Aux martyres de la Résistance, pour perpétuer le souvenir des atrocités commises.”

There is a stone plaque on which is written: “Ici, terre des camps de la mort et cendres des martyres”, meaning: “Soil from the death camps and ash of the martyrs.”

There is a second stone plaque on which is written: “Les déportés, internés, résistants patriotes, survivants des camps et prisons, de la barbarie et du fascisme. N'oubliez pas notre serment et notre combat pour la liberté et la paix dans notre monde. Soyez maintenant les défenseurs de notre idéal. Plus jamais ça. En l'an 2001”, which means: “The deported, interned, patriotic resistance fighters, survivors of the camps and prisons, of barbarism and fascism. Do not forget our oath and our fight for freedom and peace in the world. Be now the upholders of our ideal. Never again. The year 2001.” The fact that the plaque was put on the monument in 2001 shows that the atrocities of the German Occupation were so terrible that they are felt even in the 21^st century.

On the other end of the street, there is another plaque, just on the right of the “Pharmacy des Puys”, which is the old pharmacy of the husband of Marinette Menut: “Marinette Menut, lieutenant pharmacien blessée au combat de Saint Just (Cantal) le 22 juin 1944, torturée et fusillée par la gestapo française et allemande sans avoir parlé à Clermont Ferrand le 19 juillet 1944 à l’âge de 30 ans.”

All these inscriptions commemorate the Résistance; the fighters wanted us to remember their struggle for the freedom of our Nation and for it to serve as an example. The monument is regularly decorated and inhabitants of Riom stand and meditate in front of it in accordance with the Résistance fighters’ wish.

The sculptor, Raoul Mabru (born 1882-1957) made eighteen other such commemorative monuments. He was from the Auvergne and specialized in commemorative monuments for WW1 and WW2. Some of his monuments are quite famous, notably the monument for the victims of the Gestapo in Royat. He did not just make patriotic sculptures.

Marinette Menut, née Anne-Mary Lafaye, was born in Laprugne on 16^th May 1914. After having studied medicine, she married a young chemist, Max Menut, who was mobilized in 1939, made a prisoner but who escaped. They created a chemist shop in Riom called “La Pharmacie Nouvelle.”

In 1941, Max Menut became a Résistance fighter and his wife agreed with this decision although she was pregnant. Marinette took part in the Résistance. She had to go undercover. After fierce battles in the Mont Mouchet, she was caught and brought to an infirmary from which she tried to escape. She failed and on 19^th July she was transferred to Clermont where she was atrociously tortured then shot, without having revealed to the Gestapo any information.

Interviews of local people on what they think of the monument in Marinette Menue Square:

Young man, walking past: “I have of course noticed this statue before, though, honestly, I’ve never really paid much attention to it. I do not like it particularly… The contrast between the black and white stones is ok. I respect what it stands for, this monument. I’m proud that our town has put up a memorial to such heroic Résistance fighters! I think the fact that it has been put up near a school is a great idea, it will remind the pupils about the war. It’s a shame though that it is in a carpark! It’s not very convenient to get to it, and it’s obviously impossible to meditate in silence in front of it!”

Fabienne, a middle-aged woman who goes frequently past the monument: “It’s really badly placed! They should put it somewhere where it can be seen properly. I mean, the triumphal arch is in a big square of Riom, everybody sees it, so why can’t we put this monument somewhere like that? This sculpture is beautiful because of the precision of the sculpture, it shows really well the emotions of the people. I prefer this sort of memorial to those patriotic statues because it denounces more the horror of the fighting. This statue shows the suffering of the Resistance fighters, it has more meaning, a stronger message. It reminds me of the memorial in Gentioux (in Creuse), do you know it? There’s a phrase on it: “Maudite soit la guerre!” (“War be damned!”) with the statue of a child. I prefer a message which condemns the suffering rather than one glorifying war, because, today, this monument is for all the victims of war in the world.”

A dialogue with God...

God: What’s the matter with these humans; they are always fighting each other! Having to send my angels to Earth every time these limited little creatures start quarrelling is becoming tedious!

Kneeling man: God, please don’t blame us! Look at me and my friends, we are French, good French patriots! We are fighting for the freedom of France, the beautiful country you have always treasured! Please help us, we need your help to get rid of the evil Nazis!

Standing man: Stop imploring God! If He existed, He would have prevented this war. He would punish all those who kill their fellow men… No, we are all alone. This world is bad, and we alone are to blame…

Kneeling man: Well, we’ve got nothing to lose. If He does exist, then maybe He will help us?

Standing man: Don’t be ridiculous, no one can help us. We can only help ourselves! Don’t be such a coward, get up and fight!

Kneeling man: Dear God, I’m sorry about my friend, he doesn’t believe in You.

God: I’m listening. You were telling me about the horrors and atrocities of the creatures you described as bloodthirsty monsters?

Kneeling man: Yes, the Gestapo are the Devil’s henchmen!

God: Hmm… Maybe the Germans aren’t as good as I thought they were. I’ll think about how to punish them.

Kneeling man: Thank You, oh God! You are a  generous God.

God: You’re welcome, My son.

Le Gaulois Mourant

Tom GRELLIER & Enguerrand LAMY write...

This 1902 statue, made of marble, on top of a grotto, is situated in Virlogeux square, Riom. The sculptor is Henri Leon Greber. A man tries to save his friend whose left arm is injured. Our photo was taken from a low angle to give a dramatic effect. The fuzzy effect is our way of symbolizing an event forgotten in the mists of time… There is a plaster cast entitled "The Death of the Chief".

Henri-Léon Gréber (born in Beauvais in 1854, died in Paris in 1941) is a French sculptor, engraver and ceramist. He was the student of Antonin Mercie at the School of Fine Arts in Paris. He is the father of the architect Jacques Gréber. He made many patriotic works, such as:

• 1880: La Résistance, a marble statue in Dijon
• 1900: L’industrie, a limestone statue at the Grand Palais in Paris
• 1913: statue of Emmanuel Frémiet in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.
• 1919: Monument to the teachers from the Lycée François Truffaut who died in the war, Beauvais
• 1921: War memorial, Montreuil-sur-Mer

The statue is in Virlogeux square. A square is a place for walking and relaxation in an urban setting (‘Irrespective of the more or less extensive farms, we find in our cities smaller spaces, but which are nonetheless a very important contribution from the perspective of aesthetics and hygiene. Whenever the imperative necessities of circulation permit, all the available seats are to be transformed into lawns and planted. In general, it gives these places the name of squares’ according to The Good Gardener, 1947).

During the second half of the eighteenth century, the triangular plot of one hectare was a mulberry nursery for rearing silkworms. The planted area, on the outskirts of the boulevards, was, during the revolutionary period, converted into a ground for country fairs where the butchers of the city come to buy animals. 

Then, from 1858 to 1868, it served as a training ground for the nearby Vercingetorix barracks. It was provisionally a landscaped garden for the visit of Napoleon III on 5^th July 1862 hence its name at the time of Square Napoleon. A few years later, it was landscaped as we see it today (including the grotto and double basin with footbridge).

The triumphal arch, a First World War Memorial, was added in 1923. The Dying Gaul and La Marseillaise (1902) by Ernest Dagonet (1856-1926) have a patriotic aim. The statue in Carrera marble of Narcissus (1814) by Sébastien Caldelari was given to the City of Riom to decorate the square.

In 2011 began a major clean-up of the square (the chestnut, plum and maple trees were cut down and replaced by hawthorn, magnolia, cherry and birch).

A 1920s map of Riom

Virlogeux square is south of the town centre

Interviews of local people about what they think of the sculpture

An elderly person: “This statue is part of my daily life. I live next to this square. I find it significant cultural heritage of our Auvergne. Artistically, it is well done.”

A young person: “I like it! I want to be a soldier in the future, so I like this virile statue!”

A student: “I often go to this park, I have seen this statue and I think it’s really horrible! I'm not interested in the heritage of the city of Riom because I find that it’s an ugly city. I would prefer to live in New York (laughing)”.

A teacher: “This statue is just amazing! I have already studied this statue with my pupils and they adored studying this period of history! Moreover the park is quiet and very beautiful! I often come to feed the pigeons in this park.”

We asked twenty other people if they liked the statue and if they thought it was well situated; the majority said yes. We also asked them if they knew about the history of the statue (sculptor, date, significance, etc.); the majority said they did not.

The soldier speaks...

“Help, someone, help, my friend is hurt! Marcus, don’t abandon me, Marcus! You taught me to fight, to be brave. Marcus, this war has no meaning without you; you saved my life so many times. My friend, my protector, do not die! Damn these Romans! Gergovia was our victory but Vercingetorix still needs us; Caesar has sent two legions after us; we must keep fighting if we don’t want to be made prisoners! I swear to you, Marcus, if you die, I will not mourn your death, no, not until I have killed the Roman dog who has hurt you!”