Veilleur de pierre is a memorial sculpture by Georges Salendre and architect Louis Thomas, installed in 1948 at the intersection of rue Gasparin and place Bellecour in Lyon. It serves as a memorial to the French internal resistance and recalls the assassination by Germans of Albert Chambonnet, Gilbert Dru, Léon Pfeffer, René Bernard, and Francis Chirat at this location, when the site was the café Le Moulin à vent.

The sculpture represents a man known as le veilleur de pierre and is attached to the pillar supporting the building at the corner of the street and square. Behind it, a wall bears the names of the five assassinated resistance members, along with toponyms associated with Nazi atrocities. The composition is topped by alternating bonnets phrygiens and croix de Lorraine. Georges Salendre stated that the work was inspired by a work of Donatello.

◎ Nearby Objects

• 
  Equestrian Statue of Louis XIV 80 m away
• 
  Place Bellecour 100 m away
• 
  Rue Émile-Zola 110 m away
• 
  Rue des Marronniers 150 m away
• 
  Place des Célestins 200 m away

Memorial at Place Bellecour

Veilleur de pierre was installed in 1948 at the intersection of rue Gasparin and place Bellecour in Lyon. It is a sculpture by Georges Salendre and architect Louis Thomas, and it serves as a memorial to the French internal resistance. The work recalls the assassination by Germans of resistance members Albert Chambonnet, Gilbert Dru, Leon Pfeffer, Rene Bernard, and Francis Chirat. The killings took place at the same location when the site was occupied by the cafe Le Moulin a vent.

Form and Memorial Setting

Veilleur de pierre is a statue representing a man called le veilleur de pierre. It is attached to the pillar supporting the building at the corner of rue Gasparin and place Bellecour. Behind the statue is a wall with several commemorative elements: the names of five assassinated resistant members, toponyms associated with Nazi atrocities, and a phrase whose wording is not given in the available facts. Above these inscriptions, the wall is decorated with alternating bonnets phrygiens and croix de Lorraine. Georges Salendre explained that the work was inspired by a work by Donatello.

The Events of 27 July 1944

On 27 July 1944, five resistants imprisoned at Montluc prison were assassinated in reprisal for an attack at cafe Le Moulin a vent. The cafe was frequented by German officers and Gestapo members. The same date also points to several nearby sites associated with the occupation and repression: the Gestapo installation at 32 place Bellecour, identified after the bombing of the Ecole de Sante Militaire on avenue Berthelot, and the Milice headquarters at 85 rue de la Republique near place Bellecour. The resistant group included Albert Chambonnet, known as Didier, and Gilbert Dru.

The record also places Charles Maurras, director of the Action Francaise newspaper with offices near place Bellecour, and his secretary Michel Deon in relation to the site. Maurras and Deon stopped at the execution site to pay respects. The same source states that Maurras refused to publish the German propaganda communique claiming the attackers were arrested and executed, while also noting that he had previously demanded execution of terrorists and taking hostages from their families.