Hey, America: Give the Statue of Liberty back to France. This is stated by a French politician who is making headlines in his nation for pointing out that the U.S. is no longer worthy of the monument. It was a gift from France nearly 140 years ago. Raphaël Glucksmann, as a member of the European Parliament and co-president of a small left-wing party in France, cannot assert that he represents everyone in his compatriots.
But his statement in a sermon this weekend that some Americans “have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants” recalls the wide-ranging shockwaves that U.S. President Donald Trump’s seismic changes in foreign and domestic approach are activating in France and elsewhere in Europe.
“Give us back the Statue of Liberty,” Glucksmann said. “It was our gift to you. But apparently you despise her. So she will be happy here with us,” Glucksmann stated.
The White House pushed back on the statements, saying France instead should still be “grateful” for U.S. backing during World War I and World War II. Glucksmann, subsequently, retorted that French appreciation for Americans’ wartime sacrifices is “eternal,” but also said: “If the free world no longer interests your government, then we will take up the torch, here in Europe.” “No one, of course, will come and steal the Statue of Liberty,” he wrote in X posts. “The statue is yours. But what it embodies belongs to everyone.”
Is France able to reclaim it?
UNESCO, the United Nations, reports that the iconic memorial is U.S. government possession. It was initially seen as a significant gesture of French-American friendship to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence.
However, a conflict that broke out in 1870 between France and German nations led by Prussia redirected the energy of the monument’s designer, French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi. The heritage also took time to be financed, with a step made that the French would fund the statue and Americans would bear the costs of its pedestal. Shipped in 350 pieces from France, the statue was officially unveiled on October 28, 1886.
French-U.S. ties would have to submit a ridge before Glucksmann found backing from French President Emmanuel Macron’s government. The French president is walking a delicate balance, attempting to labour with Trump and season some of his policy changes on the one hand but also resisting hard against some White House steps, particularly Trump’s tariff hikes.
He has let his prime minister, François Bayrou, adopt a more critical perspective. Bayrou ripped apart the “brutality” that was displayed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his White House visit and urged that Trump’s administration risk handing success to Russia when it halted military aid to Kyiv.
Glucksmann’s party has become increasingly critical, posting indictments on its website that Trump is exercising authority in an “authoritarian” style and is “preparing to deliver Ukraine on a silver platter” to Moscow.
During his address, Glucksmann cited New York poet Emma Lazarus’ words regarding the statue, the “mighty woman with a torch” who pledged a home for the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” “Today, this land is ceasing to be what it was,” Glucksmann stated.
What messages is the White House conveying?
When questioned about Glucksmann’s remarks, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the U.S. would “definitely not” be relinquishing the landmark in New York Harbor.
“My advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them that it’s only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now,” Leavitt stated, obviously referencing the U.S. struggle with Allied powers to liberate France from Nazi occupation during World War II and alongside France during World War I. “They should be very grateful.”
The gratitude is mutual. Leavitt overlooked France’s crucial support for the United States during its war for independence against Great Britain. In his later comments, Glucksmann clarified that his suggestion for Lady Liberty to return to France was meant as an expression of appreciation. “a wake-up call.” “We all in Europe love this nation to which we know we owe so much,” he posted. “It will rise again. You will rise again. We are counting on you.”
