Richard Orlinski’s lion, Place Garibaldi in Nice, the last statue of an exhibition in the streets of the city which took place in 2023, should be removed by November 30. This sculpture, named Roaring Lion Spiritwill have marked two years of controversies around Orlinski, his works and the Nice town hall. The lion will be replaced by another work.
The former real estate agent converted into a sculptor benefited from two simultaneous exhibitions in 2023, one in Paris and the other in Nice. The latter was held from June 8 to October 31. The exhibition included ten large-scale sculptures scattered throughout the city. Among them: four gorillas, two bears, a horse, a tyrannosaurus, a crocodile and the lion.
The two bears were transferred to the ski resorts of Auron and Isola 2000 after the exhibition to be installed there for the winter, the resorts being part of the Nice metropolis. In total, a cost of almost €100,000 for the installation and removal of the works, and €30,000 for the transfer to the stations. Despite the free loan, these costs made some people cringe.
Two elements caused debate within the metropolis. The first is the reception of the works by local residents: a questionnaire conducted by the newspaper Nice-Matin showed that there were 53% of residents dissatisfied out of the approximately 200 people questioned. Then on the night of June 15 to 16, a man damaged two of the sculptures in the exhibition. On one of the gorillas located on the Rauba-Capéu quay, traces of red paint were found. Same damage on the polar bear, marked with the message “6th extinction”. The environmental activist was arrested after being seen on CCTV cameras; he admitted the facts.
In March 2024, the site Mediapart highlighted links between several personalities and Richard Orlinski. The latter would have offered them more than 60 gifts, including Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice and president of the Metropolis, Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, his deputy for sports, Marlène Schiappa, Brigitte Macron and many others. Some pieces can reach a market value of up to €150,000, with first prices around €5,000. The sculptor defended himself in the press by explaining that these are replicas without a certificate. An opposition environmentalist elected official in Nice took up the matter and filed a complaint for corruption and favoritism against the mayor and the artist. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) has been in charge of the case since September 2024. Several searches took place in March 2025 in the Parisian and Nice residences of the Estrosi couple, as well as at the town hall and in the metropolis. Orlinski’s offices were also searched.
