Banksy work stolen from Paris terror attack venue

The white stencilled oeuvre showing a sad-faced girl on one of the emergency doors of the famed Parisian venue was cut out and taken away.

By AFP
January 27, 2019
Photo: AFP

A painting in homage to terror victims by famous street artist Banksy has been stolen from the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, where 90 people were killed in 2015 in an extremist attack.

The white stencilled oeuvre showing a sad-faced girl on one of the emergency doors of the famed Parisian venue was cut out and taken away.

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"Banksy's work, a symbol of recollection and belonging to all: locals, Parisians, citizens of the world has been taken from us," the establishment said, stressing the staff's "deep indignation."

A source close to the investigation told LCI television that "a group of hooded individuals armed with angle grinders cut the painting and took it away in a truck" on the night of Friday to Saturday.

This work along with other similarly-themed paintings popped up in Paris last June and has been attributed to the reclusive British street artist.

Banksy, whose identity is known to only a handful of friends, caused a sensation in October when one of his paintings began shredding itself, just after selling for $1.4 million (1.2 million euros).

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