Two men accused of filming themselves desecrating a Virgin Mary statue were removed from Corsica on Saturday, 3 October, after public anger over the viral footage escalated across the island. Their departure came after crowds gathered, their identities circulated online and an earlier attempt to fly them to mainland France was disrupted.
The backlash has also continued online, where one Threads user wrote, 'And they say it's not all men... Even a statue is not safe anymore.' Another reacted, 'Here you go even more disgusting one, where men assault a statue of a mother and baby,' as outrage grew around footage allegedly showing one of the men miming a sexual act against the religious figure while the other filmed.
Virgin Mary Statue Was Pulled From Its Pedestal
🚨🇫🇷Police have arrested the invader who desecrated a statue of the Virgin Mary in Corsica.
— Mario ZNA (@MarioBojic) October 1, 2026
From now on, his life will be nothing but getting f*cked and beaten by Corsicans every single day until he goes to hell. pic.twitter.com/I0zY2IgSdk
The incident itself happened in the early hours of Thursday, 1 October, at the Stabiacciu roundabout in Porto-Vecchio. Prosecutors said the two seasonal workers, aged 21 and 24, were heavily intoxicated when the statue was pulled from its pedestal.
One of the men allegedly hung from the Virgin Mary figure while miming a sexual act and making sexual and sexist remarks as the other recorded him. The statue was later found lying on the ground, and video of the incident spread rapidly across social media.
The white statue had stood beneath a stone arch at the roundabout since 2020 and was regarded as a familiar religious landmark in the town. Porto-Vecchio Mayor Jean-Christophe Angelini condemned the destruction and said the city would file a complaint and replace the statue.
Public Fury Escalates Across Corsica
The response moved quickly beyond social media. Residents gathered outside the Porto-Vecchio gendarmerie, while a separate prayer gathering was held near the site where the statue had stood.
An empty coffin bearing the suspects' names was placed outside the police compound as tensions intensified. Their identities and photographs were also shared widely online, fuelling concerns about possible vigilantism as authorities sought to move the men away from the island.
Online reaction remained fierce. One commenter wrote, 'Every woman and random thing, animal alike are Jane Doe at this point,' while another called the footage 'even more disgusting' because it involved 'a statue of a mother and baby'. A separate commenter responded to the broader debate by suggesting men should be sent to 'charm school' to be taught how to become 'proper citizens of healthy, functioning societies'.
Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis, president of the Corsican Assembly, said the incident had 'deeply shocked and hurt a large part of our people'. She said the Virgin Mary holds a particular place in Corsican history and collective memory, describing the figure as representing both religious faith and 'the woman and the universal mother'.
Former Corsican Assembly president Jean-Guy Talamoni also condemned the desecration but warned against retaliation. He said 'calls for lynching' were incompatible with Corsican values and the rule of law.
Desecration Opens a Wider Conversation About Women
Beyond the religious offence at the centre of the case, some of the online reaction has focused on the explicitly sexual nature of the footage and what it suggests about the treatment of female figures. For some commenters, the fact that the target was an image of the Virgin Mary, associated with both womanhood and motherhood, made the sexual nature of the alleged act particularly significant.
This is how Catholics in Corsica came together to protest after two men desecrated a statue of the Virgin Mary in Porto-Vecchio. Hundreds gathered to pray, honor Our Lady and express their outrage after the statue was vandalized. pic.twitter.com/dfc1nRXM8Q
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) October 3, 2026
The allegations also go beyond damage to property. The two men are due to appear before the Ajaccio criminal court on 16 November 2026 on charges including sexual exhibition and serious damage committed jointly, placing the alleged sexual conduct directly within the criminal proceedings.
Porto-Vecchio officials have said the statue will be replaced, meaning the physical landmark is expected to return. The debate surrounding the video, however, has already expanded beyond what happened at the Stabiacciu roundabout, with some of the online backlash focusing specifically on the sexual treatment of a female religious figure.
