Banksy hits the French Embassy with tears in his eyes

Banksy has been busy this time in the city of London, to again criticise the conditions of the Calais jungle. The Calais jungle is the nickname given to a migrant encampment in the vicinity of Calais, France, where migrants live while they attempt to enter the United Kingdom.

The migrants, who frequently stow away on lorries, ferries, cars, or trains travelling through the Port of Calais or the Eurotunnel terminus, are a mixture of refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants. Banksy painted on the French Embassy the image of  Les Misérables, a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original French title. However, several alternatives have been used, including The Miserables, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims and The Dispossessed.

Here Banksy paints the famous image of the young orphaned girl ‘Cosette’ from Les Misérables with tear gas being let off into her eyes. The piece represents the Victims camping in the Calais Jungle, and where tear gas is allegedly being used to clear the camp by the French authorities, another message Banksy is sharing to the world about the poor conditions the refugees are facing.

Banksy – Les Miserables (French Embassy London) Street Art
Photo © Banksy
Photo © Banksy
Photo © Banksy
Photo © Banksy

If you scan the QR code it loads this video, for those who cannot make it to London tonight this is the Link…

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