I think (some) people here are underestimating just how important Napoleon is, in French history…
Napoleon is, arguably, more important to the French, and to Europe as a whole, than Lincoln is to the US…
I’m not arguing that he wasn’t extremely flawed, or that he didn’t fuck up massively, or that he wasn’t somewhat of a megalomaniac, but… This is the man who arguably shaped modern Europe more than anyone else. More than Stalin. More than Hitler. Descendants of his soldiers (and, bizarrely, his cook) STILL make up the royal families of several European countries. His wife literally invented the rose plant, as we know it today. This is not some random “general” from history. This is arguably one of the most important people to have ever lived. And again, I’m no fan, and think the Napoleon hero worship IN FRANCE gets rather sickening at times…
So yeah, to be blunt, tearing down a statue of Napoleon (or renaming a proposed plaza in Sydney that was supposed to be named after him. No joke, that happened), is tantamount to… Something more significant than the usual statue destruction. This is like… Red guards, level.
I would argue that Napoleon matters more than Churchill, too, historically, so… I would say this deserves AT LEAST the ire that the attack on Churchill’s statue in London received…
I think (some) people here are underestimating just how important Napoleon is, in French history…
Napoleon is, arguably, more important to the French, and to Europe as a whole, than Lincoln is to the US…
I’m not arguing that he wasn’t extremely flawed, or that he didn’t fuck up massively, or that he wasn’t somewhat of a megalomaniac, but… This is the man who arguably shaped modern Europe more than anyone else. More than Stalin. More than Hitler. Descendants of his soldiers (and, bizarrely, his cook) STILL make up the royal families of several European countries. His wife literally invented the rose plant, as we know it today. This is not some random “general” from history. This is arguably one of the most important people to have ever lived. And again, I’m no fan, and think the Napoleon hero worship IN FRANCE gets rather sickening at times…
So yeah, to be blunt, tearing down a statue of Napoleon (or renaming a proposed plaza in Sydney that was supposed to be named after him. No joke, that happened), is tantamount to… Something more significant than the usual statue destruction. This is like… Red guards, level.
I would argue that Napoleon matters more than Churchill, too, historically, so… I would say this deserves AT LEAST the ire that the attack on Churchill’s statue in London received…