Recently, Raphael Glucksmann declared that France need to reclaim the famous statue, claiming that the US no longer embodies the principles that led France to donate the monument.
Raphael Glucksmann, a French politician, suggested that the Statue of Liberty should be restored to France, but the United States strongly disagreed, calling his comments politically motivated and unjustified.
A center-left lawmaker named Glucksmann recently declared that France ought to reclaim the famous statue, claiming that the US no longer embodies the principles that led France to donate the monument. His comments were perceived as an outspoken critique of US President Donald Trump’s policies, namely those pertaining to international relations and scientific freedom.
Return the Statue of Liberty to us. We’re going to say, ‘Give us back the Statue of Liberty,’ to the Americans who have sided with the tyrants and dismissed scholars for calling for scientific freedom,” Glucksmann stated.
“You seem to hate it, even though we gave it to you as a gift. Thus, everything would be alright at home.”
The statement sparked a sharp response from the White House, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying that France would be “speaking German” without US help in World War II.
“Absolutely not. And 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. So they should be very grateful to our great country,” she said.
🚨Politicians in France are asking for the Statue of Liberty BACK.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 17, 2025
Karoline Leavitt chose VIOLENCE:
"I would like to remind France that it's only because of the USA that the French are not speaking German right now. So they should be very grateful to our great country”
WOW. pic.twitter.com/PuG864VYj1
On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York Harbor to mark the 100th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. It was made by French artist Auguste Bartholdi as a gift from the French to the Americans, symbolizing their shared ideals of democracy and freedom.
Glucksmann’s comments were mainly interpreted as a symbolic political statement rather than a sincere call for the statue’s return, even though Paris does have a miniature replica of it on an island in the Seine.
Glucksmann has been an outspoken opponent of Trump and has vehemently opposed the US President’s change in foreign policy, especially with reference to the conflict in Ukraine.
Additionally, he has denounced French far-right politicians, calling them “a fan club” for billionaire Elon Musk and Trump.
