Drunk Briton arrested over ‘shameful display’ in French museum

A 70-year old British man was arrested in the courtyard of a museum in south-west France following accusations of a shameful display involving indecent exposure, a public bowel movement and racist insults.

The man, who has not been identified, was outside the Musée Ingres Bourdelle, in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) on Saturday (April 27), when he reportedly lowered his trousers and made a bowel movement in the courtyard.

Some onlookers mistook this for a piece of performance art, according to La Depeche.

However, museum workers - who know their art - confronted the visibly intoxicated man, asking him to cover himself and clean up the mess.

He is then said to have begun insulting them with racist slurs and Nazi salutes.

The police were called and promptly arrested him. La Depeche reported that he was found to have 1.9g of alcohol in his breath. For comparison, the legal limit to drive is 0.5g.

No memory of events

After several hours in police custody, the man reportedly said he had no memory of the events. However, psychiatric evaluation found that he could be held culpable for his actions, all of which were captured on CCTV.

The man was released by police after sobering up but will have to appear in court on July 5.

He will face charges of indecent exposure, insulting a public official, public defence of crime, deteriorating a public service and racial abuse. 

The Musée Ingres Bourdelle, housed in the former palace of the bishops of Montauban, exhibits a collection of artworks related to two famous natives of Montauban: Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and sculptor Antoine Bourdelle.

The museum told The Connexion that they have been instructed not to comment on the case.