Banksy’s new murals in Paris target France’s policy on migrants

Graffiti artist Banksy’s latest murals in Paris are based on the theme of migration and highlight the plight of refugees in Europe.

Banksy has painted walls in Paris with murals on the theme of migration — a political act by the “hit-and-run” graffiti artist as governments row over how to treat people fleeing to Europe. The works are believed to have started to appear as early as last Wednesday, which was the UN-designated World Refugee Day, and some have already been vandalised.

One mural, on a street in northern Paris where migrants sleep rough, shows a black girl spraying a pink wallpaper pattern over a swastika. The painting was subsequently defaced to make it look like she was painting the Nazi symbol herself. Others carry signature traits of the British artist, such as a rat familiar in his other works, in this case flying through the air on the cork from a champagne bottle. A PR agent who has worked for Banksy in the past did not respond to a request for comment.

Banksy, whose real identity is unknown, is famous for outdoor graffiti, including on Israel’s barrier at the West Bank and Disneyland where he painted a life-size figure of a Guantanamo Bay detainee. Once a small-time graffiti artist from the English town of Bristol, Banksy’s work has become hugely valuable. French authorities placed a protective cover over his painting of Apple founder Steve Jobs as a refugee on a wall at a migrant camp in Calais in 2015.