Breasts of statue upset French Mayor

“The mayor of the French town of Neuville-en-Ferrain, near Lille, has removed a public sculpture on the grounds that the size of its breasts has upset some members of his administration, according to reports Friday. The offending sculpture is a bust of Marianne, France's symbolic republican heroine,” the Loss Angeles Times informs.

The terracotta bust of Marianne - the traditional female embodiment of the French Republic in a Phrygian cap - was an original work by a local artist, installed in 2007 at the town hall in Neuville-en-Ferrain, informs the ABC news agency.

Marianne's breasts -- whether fully exposed or partially concealed -- have been regarded as symbolic of motherhood and abundance, and communicate the bountiful and all-inclusive nature of republicanism. The source reports that the creator of the sculpture, Catherine Lamacque, told Agence France-Presse that “I made the breasts prominent to symbolize the generosity of the Republic,” the Loss Angeles Times reports. “The mayor's decision is absurd," she continued. "I only hope that he will not have it destroyed.”