2023-12-01 19:28:26
As part of the Quai des Bulles comics festival, an open-air exhibition dedicated to the humorous comic strip Koko Doesn’t Like Capitalism, by Tientiens, was to be held until November 26. At the request of the town hall it was dismantled prematurely.
A few pages were enough to provoke censorship. As part of the Quai des Bulles festival in Saint-Malo, which was held from October 27 to 29, the open-air exhibition dedicated to the work Koko doesn’t like capitalism, from Tienstiens, had to play overtime until November 26. However, for reasons “independent of our will, the Tienstiens exhibition was dismantled prematurely”, can we read on the official festival website.
Born on Instagram on the account of tienstiens.bd, Koko doesn’t like capitalism, was published as an album by Bandes Détournées, in the form of caustic strips tackling political, societal and philosophical subjects. A few boards criticizing the police aroused the discontent of the city authorities, notably one illustrating a choir whose members chant “Everyone, everyone, everyone hates the police“. Local elected officials from the RN also reacted on social networks.
“Following a request from Saint-Malo town hall, which echoes the concerns of the police, we were asked to remove two signs which were perceived to offend the officers”declared the organizers to our colleagues at The Obs November 24th.
«I made the decision to shorten an exhibition, which for me had spent most of its time after the three days of the festival and the school holidays, seeing that the annoyances it aroused were increasing to the point that the town hall is calling me to report the problem. It’s censorship, I don’t deny it, and it caused debate within the association. But it is also a gesture of appeasement. explained Georges Coudray, president of the Quai des Bulles association to our colleagues at Telerama Wednesday November 29.
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A decision which initially did not fail to surprise publishers who learned the news just a few days after its suspension. “We didn’t expect such a thing as the selection of the boards was made in accordance with the festival. If other boards prove to be more critical, this one is purely humorous playing on the discrepancy between a classic slogan of a rather radical left-wing demonstration and third republic imagery. they temper.
If they understand the festival dilemma -“this big machine which has every interest in remaining on good terms with the municipality»- they point out the speed with which censorship fell: “In 3 weeks, with an exposure far from spectacular in scope, the police and the far right won their case. Given the time it takes for the notion of police violence to be accepted as a term in the public space, the balance of power is unbalanced. Faced with pressure from the far right and the police, the exhibition was purely and simply censored, this is the conclusion. We are realistic, there is not much we can do.»
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20,000 copies sold
As for freedom of expression, which this suspension implicitly evokes, the publishers have widely expressed themselves on the subject, refusing, like the author whose speech they speak, to use this argument to protest against the censorship of the exhibition. The issue is elsewhere. More ideological: “As part of this exhibition, right-wing forces suspended an exhibition that promotes left-wing critical thinking“. Faced with this observation, editors willingly respond to interviews to convey their ideas, benefiting from the famous Streisand effect (an involuntary media phenomenon), which ultimately reversed censorship by making them more visible. And especially “invite the public to delve into the book to discover much more in-depth critical thinking than a humorous piece“. A work that has already passed through the hands of 20,000 readers.
Would censorship and its counterpart self-censorship gain ground? “The risk of self-censorship is more on the side of the festivals, estimate the editors of tieniens. As much as we can estimate that for us censorship has been reversed by making us more visible, it is also unlikely that an author of humorous comic strips from the radical left will be exhibited next year in Saint-Malo».
Quai desbulles is not the first festival to comply with municipal requirements. Last June, the comic book festival in Dieppe offended the city’s sensibilities with its slightly low-cut poster signed Jim that the organizers had to camouflage with a pile of books. “I do not agree with the town hall, but what matters to me is that the festival takes place in the best possible conditions, in calm and in good spirit”, considered Jean-Pierre Surest, president of the Normandy comic strip association. Faced with the controversy and the media excitement, the City finally reversed course and announced that the “version originale» would be maintained.
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In Champigny-sur-Marne, a fresco by Chloé Wary was covered with white paint in October, reports our colleague from Libé . Even if the city’s cultural affairs department claimed an error, “this is indeed censorship», lamented the designer, to the daily newspaper. “However unintentional and accidental it may be“, she added.
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