Cross-posted from https://lemm.ee/post/58612465

France should take back the Statue of Liberty because the US no longer represents the values that led France to offer the statue, a French member of the European Parliament said Sunday, March 16. “Give us back the Statue of Liberty,” centre-left politician Raphaël Glucksmann said at a convention of his Place Publique center-left movement.

“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,’” he told cheering supporters. “We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home,” he added.

The Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York City’s harbour on October 28, 1886, for the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence as a gift from the French people to America. It was designed by Frenchman Auguste Bartholdi. Paris does have a far smaller copy of the statue on a small island on the Seine in Paris.

    • reddig33@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      Unlike confederate monuments, the Statue of Liberty should remain standing as a reminder of what we should strive to be.

      • kautau@lemmy.world
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        9 hours ago

        Maybe if we ever return back to that we can scrape off all the Verdigris for a short celebration

    • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
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      6 hours ago

      Too much work. Just rotate that arm down about 40° at this point.

      /s of course, but it stung to type

    • BlackSheep@lemmy.ca
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      8 hours ago

      The Statue of Liberty symbolizes freedom and opportunity, representing the ideals of liberty and democracy. Originally a gift from France, it has become an iconic welcome for immigrants arriving in the United States, embodying hope and the pursuit of a better life. The USA has turned the Statue of Liberty into a travesty.