French Politician Asks US To Return Statue of Liberty, Claims They ‘Despise It’- wna24
Paris: At a movement’s convention for his political party, Place Publique, the French Member of Parliament Raphael Glucksmann sparked controversy by demanding that the United States of America return the iconic Statue of Liberty to France. This demand was based on Glucksmann’s claim that the USA no longer upholds the values that France had in mind when gifting the statue over a century ago.
“We’re going to say to the Americans who have chosen to side with the tyrants, to the Americans who fired researchers for demanding scientific freedom: ‘Give us back the Statue of Liberty,’ ”Raphael Glucksmann said according to the French newspaper Le Monde. “We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home,” He added as the crowd cheered.
Glucksmann’s statement before a mass gathering has ignited a debate about the significance of the Statue of Liberty and its representation of shared values between France and the US.
The Statue of Liberty, a symbol of freedom, democracy and friendship between the two nations, was presented to the US by France on July 4, 1884, coinciding with American Independence Day. The statue arrived in New York Harbor on July 17, 1885, without its pedestal, which was completed in 1886. The then President of the United States of America, Grover Cleveland presided over the statue’s dedication on October 28, 1886, before a crowd of thousands at the Liberty Island in New York. A smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty stands on the banks of Seine River in Paris.
The Politician, Raphael Glucksmann has been a vocal supporter for Ukraine amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He has publicly criticized the policies of the American President Donald Trump, particularly regarding the changing stance Kiev and reduction in universities’ and colleges’ research grants.
“The second thing we’re going to say to the Americans is: ‘If you want to fire your best researchers, if you want to fire all the people who, through their freedom and their sense of innovation, their taste for doubt and research, have made your country the world’s leading power, then we’re going to welcome them,'” Glucksmann said.
He further called out the far-right politicians in the French Parliament as the “Fan Club” of President Trump and the American Billionaire, Elon Musk