Following Paris terror attacks back in November 2015, a stencil-painted work appeared on one of the emergency-exits of the Bataclan. Depicting a sad little girl, the tribute paid to the victims has been very quickly credited to Banksy, the mysterious street artist. The work has been carved out in the night from January 26 to 27, 2019.
This Tuesday July 14, 2020 Italy officially returned the famous work credited to Banksy in tribute to the victims of the terror attacks on November 13, 2015 to France. Franceinfo says the work of art may now be displayed in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome where is found the French Embassy in Italy. We do not know yet when the work will return to France. But according to Italian agency Agi, it may find a spot at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris.
Remember, this June 27, Le Parisien daily gave new elements about the assumed thefts, saying that six people have been brought before an examining magistrate in Paris, after being held in custody at the regional Police Directorate of the criminal police prefecture in Paris. Two of them have been placed under formal investigation for “theft committed by an organized band”, and the other four for “receiving of stolen goods stolen by an organized band”. The AFP says the six people have been arrested in Isère and Haute-Savoie.
L’œuvre de @originaIbanksy hommage aux victimes du 13/11 a été volée. pic.twitter.com/FMHoobzRXm
— Bataclan (@bataclan_) January 26, 2019
Tweet reads: “@originalbanksy’s work in tribute to the victims of the 11/13 has been stolen”.
Its location was not left to hazard since this is through that very door that a part of the audience that attended the show of the Eagles of Death Metal escaped. Just this once, the work has been stolen in the night from January 25 to 26, 2019.
On June 10, 2020, the Italian police stated to the AFP they managed to catch the stolen work in a joint operation with the French authorities. According to La Repubblica, the tribute was found in a farm in Abrruzes, not far from Rome, Italy. The theft of the work sparked a sharp feeling of indignation, especially from the venue.
This creation by Banksy was considered as a recollection symbol in a period shaken up by a series of attacks in Paris. On November 13, 2015, 90 people have been killed in the Bataclan terror attacks.