War Memorial

Despite the creation of a committee and the launch of a fundraising campaign immediately following the end of the First World War, the people of Vichy had to wait until 1935 to be able to honour their fallen brethren.
A first competition opened in 1922 was won by sculptor Paul Roussel, winner of the First Grand Prix de Rome, who had already sculpted the mermaids, seahorses and water lily leaves that adorn the facades of Vichy's Grand Thermal Baths. However, having missed the deadlines, it was ultimately Charles Plas, winner of a second competition, who delivered the monument, also with considerable delay.

The monument is built around a central bas-relief: a winged Victory, clearly modelled on the figure that dominates François Rude's Departure of the Volunteers on the Arc-de-Triomphe, guides representatives of the various army corps: cavalryman, infantryman, artilleryman, mountain infantry, sailor, and even a chaplain stretcher-bearer. The scene's realism is emphasised by the depiction of a soldier's everyday objects (water bottle, satchel, gas mask, etc.).

The monument is surmounted by a soldier who, dressed simply in an antique tunic, armed with a sword, and leaning on a shield bearing the city's coat of arms, has sparked heated debate among veterans.