A French court has handed a two-year suspended prison sentence to a man for attempting to steal a Banksy artwork in Paris. The 38-year-old musician, Mejdi R., admitted to using an angle grinder to remove a piece of a Paris parking sign featuring a stenciled rat by the renowned British graffiti artist.
In 2018, Banksy had created the masked rat holding a box cutter near the Centre Pompidou. Mejdi R. claimed he was acting on behalf of Banksy, saying he had been asked to retrieve the artwork to prevent others from profiting off street art, which he described as having “no value.” He added that Banksy intended to “denounce the hypocrisy of a capitalist system that decides which art has value and which does not,” as reported by the National News. However, a Banksy representative denied these claims according to the prosecutor.
In addition to the suspended sentence, Mejdi R. was fined €30,000 ($32,000) and ordered to pay over €6,500 ($6,950) in damages to the Centre Pompidou, the custodian of the stolen work. Mejdi R. defended his actions, stating he was merely “degrading a metal plate,” not stealing a cultural asset.
The Banksy artwork, which was authenticated by the artist on his Instagram page, remains missing. This piece was part of a series of murals Banksy created across Paris in 2018.
