French Lawmaker Calls For Statue Of Liberty To Be Sent Back To France Over U.S. Political Shifts

March 18, 2025
The French MEP suggested that the U.S.’ current values do not align with the symbolism of the statue.
A French European Parliament (MEP) member has called for the Statue of Liberty to be returned to France.
The statue currently reigns on its own island within the New York Harbor. France gifted the statue to the United States in 1886 as a symbol of its shared values and friendship. The statue commemorated America’s 100 years of independence, as well as its liberation of enslaved people and continuation of democracy.
However, French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, who belongs to the Socialists and Democrats Group, believes the values that “Lady Liberty” symbolizes no longer align with the United States of today. The French politician struck a nerve by suggesting the U.S. send back the beloved statue due to its association with “tyrants.”
“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 stated boldly during a party convention, as reported by Politico. “We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home.”
The Trump administration’s divisive actions have sparked controversy on a national and global scale, especially regarding his foreign policy. Trump’s now-retracted decision to pause aid to Ukraine, along with his well-documented liking for Russian President Vladimir Putin, has many European nations concerned about their stance with the U.S.
Moreover, a wave of federal-mandated layoffs has caused a backlash. Glucksmann specifically mentioned the researchers fired by several U.S. agencies and departments.
Glucksmann continued, “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.”
Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration belittled Glucksmann and his impassioned words about the statue’s meaning. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the MEP a “low-level politician.” Leavitt also referenced the U.S.’s role in World War II, stating that the French would be “speaking German” if not for America’s intervention.
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