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Julien Villeneuve, also known as Anarchopanda, (French pronunciation: [anaʁkopɑ̃da]) is a Canadian philosophy professor from the Collège de Maisonneuve known for dressing in a panda costume during the 2012 Quebec student protests, in which he hugged both students and police officers.[1][2] His first appearance in the costume was at a protest on May 8, 2012.[3] He stated that his aim in wearing the costume was to lower tensions and make protests safer for students.[4] Villeneuve has a strong affinity for Plato, Aristotle and Plotinus,[5] and identifies as an anarcho-pacifist.[6]
In 2012, Montreal banned the use of masks in protests.[7] Villeneuve protested the bylaw in costume, resulting in police seizing the costume's head in April 2013;[8] it was returned several days later.[9] The ban on protestors wearing masks was struck down by the Superior Court of Quebec in 2016, but the bylaw still required protestors to notify police of their routes for non-spontaneous protests. Villeneuve challenged the ruling in court, arguing that it did not go far enough and defined a "spontaneous protest" too narrowly.[10] The bylaw was entirely repealed in 2019, to which Villeneuve said, "it's been a long time coming".[11]
The Anarchopanda persona was discontinued in 2020 following public allegations of sexual assault against Villeneuve.[12] Due to the allegations, several activist groups cut ties with him.[13]
See also
References
- ^ "Montreal Professor Is Costumed Crusader at Quebec Student Protests". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2012-08-01. Archived from the original on 2022-12-18. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
- ^ "Grève étudiante: un panda pour la gratuité scolaire" (in French). Huffington Post Quebec. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ Pindera, Loreen (June 22, 2016). "Quebec Superior Court strikes down Montreal's ban on masked protesters". CBC. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ Noël, Brigitte (2016-06-22). "Panda Suit-Wearing Philosopher Defeats Montreal's Anti-Protest Law in Court Rumble". VICE. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ Lalonde, Catherine (26 May 2012). "AnarchoPanda : la philosophie dans le trottoir". Le Devoir. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Guerchani, Sarra (23 May 2012). "Vedette des manifestations étudiantes, Qui est Anarchopanda?". TVA Nouvelles. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ "Montreal bans wearing masks at protests". CBC News. May 18, 2012.
- ^ "Montreal protest mascot Anarchopanda's head seized by police". CBC News. April 6, 2013.
- ^ "Montreal student protest mascot Anarchopanda gets head back". CBC News. April 11, 2013.
- ^ MacArthur, Cecilia (August 2, 2016). "Anarchopanda takes fight against Montreal's protest bylaw to Court of Appeal". CBC News.
- ^ Shingler, Benjamin (November 18, 2019). "At long last, Montreal does away with its controversial protest bylaw". CBC News.
- ^ "L'homme derrière Anarchopanda, la mascotte du printemps érable, aurait agressé et manipulé une fille de 16 ans". Québec Nouvelles (in Canadian French). 10 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
- ^ Proteau, Alex (July 13, 2020). "Allégations d'inconduite sexuelle: Anarchopanda largué par un média et des groupes militants". 24 heures (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-28.
External links
Media related to Anarchopanda at Wikimedia Commons- Anarchopanda hugging cops on YouTube (in French)
- Anarchopanda on Facebook
