A new Statue of Liberty inaugurated in Washington
A close-up of the Statue of Liberty in New York (undated photo).
On July 14, 2021, a scale model of the statue will be unveiled at the French Embassy in Washington.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
A replica of the Statue of Liberty made on Bartoldi's original mold has been loaned by France to the United States.
RFI attended his arrival on Tuesday in Washington.
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With our correspondent in Washington,
Anne Corpet
“
Well there you go, in place for July 14th!
It is a reduced model.
It is 1 / 16th of the statue which is in New York, but it was made on the same mold.
Philippe Etienne, French Ambassador to Washington, welcomes the Statue of Liberty with a smile.
After its stopover in New York, the artwork was installed facing the street in the gardens of the Ambassador's residence.
“
There is the symbol of friendship therefore between the French and American people, but also the symbol of freedom, of hospitality.
We found that it was a very beautiful symbol to make the little sister travel after the big sister,
”emphasizes Philippe Etienne.
And making the little sister travel was not so easy, as explained Laurent Lemetta, from the CMA CGM company, responsible for transporting the statue.
“
We made a specific sarcophagus for the statue.
It's a guillotine sarcophagus, so she couldn't move.
It was in a plexiglass box exactly to its dimensions.
And when you carry art pieces, you always need a lot of attention.
And then this one was a symbol so we paid even more attention.
"
"
It's a nice gesture,
" says Karen, an American who walks on the sidewalk and discovers the statue.
She sees it as a symbol of freedom and hope and says: “
These are important values to remember.
"
The Statue of Liberty will be inaugurated on this French national holiday by the American and French Foreign Ministers in the gardens of the residence of the French Embassy.
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