Paris Père Lachaise

Victor Noir is nowadays one of the most visited residents in the graveyard of Père-Lachaise, right after Jim Morrison and Allan Kardec. And that is not because of his historical relevance. Victor Noir was a 19th-century political journalist. He was shot in a duel by Prince Pierre Bonaparte in 1870 and became a martyr for the Republic. But the reason why his grave is so popular. The sculpture has a very noticeable protuberance in Noir's trousers. This has made it one of the most popular memorials for women to visit in the famous cemetery. Myth says that placing a flower in the upturned top hat after kissing the statue on the lips and rubbing its genital area will enhance fertility, bring a blissful sex life, or, in some versions, a husband within the year. As a result of the legend, those particular components of the otherwise verdigris (grey-green oxidized bronze) statue are rather well-worn and shiny. After a century of daily amazon joyrides (even burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese had a go) Victor Noir's lips and groin are shiny and nickel-clean. In 2004 a fence was erected around the statue of Noir, to deter superstitious people from touching the statue. However, due to supposed protests from the "female population of Paris", in fact led by French TV anchor Péri Cochin, it was torn down again.

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