Sunday, 20 December 2015 By Chant Wagner

Semiotics of Insult - La sémiotique de l'insulte - 130 Street Photographies after the Paris Attacks {Paris Street Photo}

Semiotics of Insult - La sémiotique de l'insulte - 19/130 © 2015 CHANT WAGNER

130 Street Photographies after the Paris Attacks - 130 photographies de rue, après les attentats de Paris - In Memoriam

In front of the restaurant La Belle Equipe, where 19 persons were killed on November 13, including the wife of the owner, the sidewalk has been covered with mounds of mementos. The first time I visited the place I noticed that it was the quietest of all the Paris attack sites. People just stood in silence. There are several reasons for that, I think...

A man, the owner, lost his wife whose last words were reported to ask him to take care of their child; a group of 11 friends were killed; a man sacrificed his life by throwing himself in front of a female friend; the owner explained he had lost 19 people who are part of his circle of friends. It's not just a national tragedy, it's also an intimate tragedy everyone can relate to.

This picture shows how some visitors came up with the idea of using (peaceful) leeks - poireaux in French - to express anger and revolt. "Poireau" means a stupid man in popular French. So, there you have two leeks which were used to write messages on: "Resistance!" and "Lack of Culture" while expressing at the same time something like "You Morons!" or "You Dickheads!", since there is a phallic connotation to "poireau" in French slang.

This photo is part of a series capturing the atmosphere of Paris after 11/13 in 130 pictures, one each day for each of the 130 Paris Attack victims.

Previously:

Hacking It - Le système D - 18/130

Habit Rouge Impression - Une Impression d'Habit Rouge - 17/130

Recueillement - Meditation - 16/130

Saving Memorial Art from the Rain - Sauver un art de la mémoire de la pluie - 15/130

A Month Later - Un mois plus tard - 14/130

December 13, 2015 - Le 13 décembre 2015 - 13/130

Quentin Mourier, 29 ans - Quentin Mourier - 29 years old - 12/130

I Love You - M - Je t'aime, M - 11/130

Game Over: Culture Shock - Fin de partie : le choc culturel - 10/130

The Blood of the Republic was Shed - Le sang de la République a été versé - 9/130