A statue in front of the French parliament building honouring Jean-Baptiste Colbert was covered in graffiti on Tuesday amid a global push by anti-racism activists to take down monuments to historical figures tied to slavery or colonialism.

A prominent figure under “Sun King” Louis XIV, Colbert was a 17th-century royal minister who wrote rules governing slaves in France’s overseas colonies. His statue stands in front of the National Assembly, a prominent landmark overlooking the Seine River in Paris