By Tim Binnall
A mayor in France is under fire after he allowed part of an ancient megalithic site to be destroyed in order to build a home improvement store. The misguided decision was reportedly made by Mayor Olivier Lepick, who presides over the town of Carnac. The community is home to around 3,000 standing stones, also known as menhirs, which have been likened to England's famed Stonehenge. Last August, the mayor's office inexplicably approved a permit for the DIY retail chain Mr. Bricolage to build a new store at a spot in the town where 39 of the ancient rocks stood. It would seem that this bit of bureaucracy went unnoticed by residents until earlier this year when the company began construction and wiped out the standing stones.
"The site has been destroyed," lamented local archaeologist Christian Obeltz, who recently alerted the media in France to the unfortunate development. In response, the mayor initially dismissed the removal of the stones by declaring that they were of "low archaeological value" and insisted that his office had followed the proper regulations when they approved the building permit. However, Lepick's attempt at damage control backfired spectacularly as the story spread like wildfire, several prominent politicians lambasted him for destroying what is perceived to be a priceless piece of the country's heritage, and one media outlet went so far as to call him "the most hated man in France."
Having now been the target of the country's ire for several days, Lepick has offered a more measured response to the controversy, likely in the hopes of putting it to rest. Expressing regret over his decision, which he attributes to an "administrative error," the mayor made the dubious claim that he did not know that the standing stones were a part of the larger Carnac megalithic site. That said, he criticized the backlash as being excessive and akin to him having "destroyed the Mona Lisa." The mayor went on to reveal that his proverbial fifteen minutes of infamy have led to him receiving all manner of threats from angry individuals who consider him to be "a traitor" to the country.