PARIS (AP) — Hey, United States: Give back to France the Statue of Liberty. This is what a French politician, who is making headlines in his country, said by suggesting that Americans are no longer worthy of the monument gifted almost 140 years ago.
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As a Member of the European Parliament and co-president of a small left-wing party in France, Raphaël Glucksmann cannot speak on behalf of all his compatriots.
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But his statement in a speech delivered this weekend that some Americans “have chosen to side with tyrants” reflects the repercussions that the foreign and domestic policy of US President Donald Trump has had in France and other parts of Europe.
Why would a French politician want the Statue of Liberty back?
“Return the Statue of Liberty,” Glucksmann said on Sunday to the followers of his party Public Place, who applauded and whistled. “It was our gift to you. But apparently you despise it. So she will be happy here with us,” Glucksmann added.
The White House dismissed the comments on Monday, and stated that France should be “grateful” for the support of the United States during the First and Second World Wars.
Could France ask for the Statue of Liberty to be returned to them?
In their dreams.
UNESCO, which has the statue on its list of World Heritage treasures, points out that the iconic monument is owned by the government of the United States.
Initially conceived as a monumental gesture of Franco-American friendship to commemorate the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. But a war that broke out in 1870 between France and the German states led by Prussia diverted the energies of the monument’s designer, the French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi.
The gift also took a while to be funded, and the decision was reached that the French would pay for the statue, which was built by Gustave Eiffel, and the Americans would cover the costs of its pedestal.
The statue was transported in 350 pieces from France, and was officially inaugurated on October 28, 1886.
Does the French government support the return of the Statue of Liberty?
No. Franco-American relations would have to fall off a cliff before Glucksmann found support from the government of French President Emmanuel Macron.
At the moment, the French president is walking a thin line: trying to work with Trump and moderate some of his policy changes on one hand, but also strongly opposing some decisions from the White House, notably on the issue of tariffs.
Macron has allowed his prime minister, François Bayrou, to play the role of being a more critical voice.
Bayrou criticized the “brutality” shown to Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky during his visit to the White House and suggested that the Trump administration was risking handing victory to Russia when it paused military aid to Ukraine.
Glucksmann’s party has been even more critical, and has published accusations on its website that Trump is exercising power in an “authoritarian” manner and that he is “preparing to hand over Ukraine on a silver platter” to Russia.
In his speech, Glucksmann referred to the words of New York poet Emma Lazarus about the statue, the “powerful woman with a torch” who promised a home for the “masses yearning to breathe free.” “Today, this land is no longer what it used to be,” Glucksmann said.
What did the White House say?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was questioned on Monday about Glucksmann’s comments, and she responded that the United States would “definitely not” separate from the iconic statue.
“My advice to that low-level, unnamed French politician would be to remind him that it is only thanks to the United States of America that the French are not speaking German at this moment,” said Leavitt, apparently referring to the United States' struggle with the Allied powers to liberate France from Nazi occupation in World War II and standing alongside France during World War I. “They should be very grateful.”
France also has its own Statue of Liberty
The main, original, and most famous Statue of Liberty is located in front of New York, but there are several replicas and two of them are in Paris.
One, opened in 1889 and as part of a donation from American citizens to celebrate the 100 years of the French Revolution, is Île aux Cygnes, a small artificial island in the Seine River and near the Eiffel Tower.
The other one was also designed by Bartholdi, it was in the Luxembourg Gardens for over 100 years until 2012, and since then it has been part of the exhibition at the Orsay Museum.
Both have much smaller dimensions than the original.