French-Jewish MEP Raphael Glucksmann wants France to “take back” the Statue of Liberty 140 years after it was donated to the US.
The reason is that, according to Glucksmann, Americans have “chosen to side with tyrants” and that the American people today allegedly “despise” the ideals that, according to the left-liberal politician, the statue represents.
On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York Harbor, on the occasion of the centenary of the American Declaration of Independence. Designed by Frenchman Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was a gift from the French people to the Americans and has since become one of the world’s most famous tourist destinations.
However, Raphael Glucksmann, a member of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, is now calling for the statue to be returned to France – citing his disapproval of the political path taken by the Trump administration.
– 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’, the politician proclaimed at a party congress.
The “tyrants” are presumed to refer to Russia and its leadership in Moscow, and Glucksmann, a long-time supporter of Ukraine, campaigned last year to further increase French aid to Kiev.
– We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home, the MEP continued during the party event.
“Welcoming” laid-off American scientists
Furthermore, Glucksmann argues that the Americans who are losing their jobs due to the Trump administration’s public sector cuts are instead very welcome to live and work in France.
– 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.
However, any “return” of the 46-meter statue is highly unlikely. On social media, many users see Glucksmann’s statement as another example of how difficult it is for many European politicians to deal with the political shift that Trump’s presidency has brought to the US and the world.
Some observers also point to the fact that France, Germany and other European countries have acted as an extension of the United States in foreign policy for decades, and now that US priorities have changed, they no longer have a clear plan on how to deal with the Americans.
