Monument aux Morts de Villers-Cotterêts

Most French war memorials were erected between 1921 and 1924. Like many other French communes, Villers-Cotterêts refused to erect a "standard" war memorial, which was then selected from catalogs, preferring its own historical or symbolic representation.


At first glance, this war memorial may appear similar to so many others, but it is unique in the world. It depicts a woman whose broad cloak protects the two soldiers seated at her feet.
While the use of a female figure on a war memorial is by no means unusual, its significance is much more so. In post-war France, war memorials of varying degrees of richness, sometimes created by famous sculptors, flourished in every commune. The figure of the woman is generally used to represent the French Nation, Victory or the widow.


In the case of the Villers-Cotterêts monument, a closer look at the mantle reveals plant motifs protruding from it. And therein lies our clue: this woman is none other than an allegory of the Retz forest, protector of mankind and the town. The monument was inspired in the late 1920s by Paul Bartholomé, who felt "it was necessary to associate the magnificent forest protecting soldiers during battle and sheltering them after their death". The sculptors Arnold and Dejean were commissioned to create it.


Inaugurated in the presence of Raymond Poincaré, Marshal Foch and General Mangin
The Villers-Cotterêts war memorial originally stood on the Place du Docteur Mouflier. It was inaugurated on July 22, 1923, in the presence of Raymond Poincaré, President of the Council, Senator Lubersac and military personalities such as Marshal Foch and General Mangin.
Docteur Mouflier, now the town's mayor, welcomed them as soon as they arrived at the station.


The base of the monument contains a casket listing the names of the children of Villers-Cotterêts who died for France, as well as the Croix de Guerre with palm awarded to the town in a citation dated April 19, 1921: "Has valiantly withstood the most violent bombardments which have seriously damaged it, without ceasing to demonstrate a proud and dignified attitude and an unshakeable confidence in the final success


In his speech, Dr. Mouflier, Mayor of Villers-Cotterêts, recalled the symbolic significance of the monument, evoking "the Forêt de Retz, this admirable foliage encircling the town and gleaming in the sunlight like a large emerald on the finger of the Valois"


In 1952, the base of the monument was redesigned to commemorate the victims of 39-45. Later, the names of Cotteréziens who fell in Indochina and Algeria were added.
In 2005, the town underwent major redevelopment work in the town center, and the authorities decided to move the monument to the Grand Bosquet.

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