Authorities in Paris have begun a clean-up operation at the Place de la Republique which became a people’s shrine amid the spate of terror attacks that have spilled so much blood on French soil.<br /><br /> For many in the city, the sight of the makeshift memorial being restored to its former glory is deeply emotional.<br /><br /> It marks the end of an era for a gathering point where Parisians and visitors found solace in the most desperate of times.<br /><br /> “I think it is sad,” said Paris resident, Bernard. <br /><br /> “It is like desecrating a cemetery. The names of several of my friends were up there on the list of victims of the many attacks. All that has gone now, they are forgotten.”<br /><br /> “On the one hand, I think it is very good that it gets back, to some extent, to what it was before,” said Christine from Geneva.<br /><br /> “But on the other hand, it is what everyone has experienced here, everything they witnessed.”<br /><br /> #FRANCE Clean up begins on terror landmark place de la Republique in Paris photo by Thomas Samson pic.twitter.com/LzNsWvEBl7— AFP Photo Department (@AFPphoto) 2 août 2016<br /><br /> The latest phase is about removing graffiti from the statue of Marianne, a figure representing the French Republic. Remaining objects like toys, candles and flowers were taken away on Monday.<br /><br /> “We have collected everything, kept everything in our archives in Paris City Hall,” said Bruno Julliard, the Deputy Mayor of Paris. <br /><br /> “We photographed what couldn’t be collected. We thought the time had come to give back to this statue its aesthetic appearance which makes it very beautiful.”<br /><br /> Marianne has been the silent witness to an outpouring of grief. <br /><br /> From Charlie Hebdo to the Bataclan and beyond – the fear is that France has not finished yet with terror or with tears.<br /><br /> Paris starts work to clean up ‘terror memorial’ at Place de la République https://t.co/nDXnAen4WX pic.twitter.com/ISV91ddBlE— The Connexion (@ConnexionFrance) 2 août 2016<br /><br />Photo: Natalia Liubchenkova /euronews<br />
