#EU #France – Two seasonal workers were arrested in Porto-Vecchio, Corsica, after a statue of the Virgin Mary at the Stabiacciu roundabout was torn from its pedestal and left on the roadway overnight. A self-published video that went viral depicted the workers making profane sexual acts and remarks.
The damage was discovered on the morning of October 1, 2026. The stone statue, installed in 2020 beneath a stone arch at the southern entrance to the town at the request of a local priest, had been pulled from its base. Gendarmes opened an investigation for aggravated degradation and removed the statue for examination.
Videos that the suspects themselves posted online showed one man climbing onto the figure and simulating a sexual act while making sexual and sexist remarks, as the other filmed. Authorities said the pair, ages 21 and 23 or 24, were stopped around 3 a.m. about 200 yards from the roundabout. They were heavily intoxicated, hitchhiking in the middle of the road, and initially denied involvement. One told officers he had spent the evening at a nearby campsite.
According to local reporting citing consistent sources, one of the men was born in Toulouse and the other in Medellín, Colombia. Both had come to Porto-Vecchio on seasonal contracts in hotels and restaurants. One worked at the Golden Tulip hotel, which later confirmed that a seasonal employee was involved and condemned the act. One was also described as a party promoter whose agency ended its contract after the videos circulated. One of the men later posted an apology on Snapchat, saying he had been extremely drunk.
The Ajaccio prosecutor’s office charged both men with serious joint degradation of the statue, to the detriment of the parish and the municipality of Porto-Vecchio, and with sexual exhibition. After they were brought before prosecutors on October 2, a liberty and detention judge placed them under judicial supervision. The order required them to leave Corsica immediately and barred them from returning until their trial, scheduled for November 16 before the correctional court. They were also required to check in regularly with police in their home departments. Prosecutors noted prior records: one for driving without a license, the other for two drug offenses and two traffic offenses.
Mayor Jean-Christophe Angelini called the destruction “unspeakable” and said the statue, a local landmark, would be replaced promptly. The parish priest described the act as an assault on what residents held most sacred. The city, the parish, and the group AGRIF filed complaints.
Hundreds of people gathered that day outside the gendarmerie and at the roundabout. A symbolic coffin bearing the suspects’ names—already circulating widely on social media—was placed in front of the station. No major violence was reported. The men remained presumed innocent pending judgment.
Cover Image: The statue of the Virgin Mary as it was left after being desecrated and profaned.
