Vive la Liberty! Lady Liberty’s “Little Sister” Leaving Paris to Visit New York on July 1st [fr]
135 years after "Liberty Enlightening the World" was unveiled on Liberty Island, another Statue of Liberty is set to cross the Atlantic. The Embassy of France in the United States, the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (Cnam) and the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, have joined forces to celebrate freedom and French-American friendship by bringing Lady Liberty’s “little sister” to America.
The 9-foot-tall bronze statue – crafted from the original 1878 plaster model by Auguste Bartholdi and previously on view at Paris’s Musée des Arts et Métiers – will be displayed on Ellis Island on Independence Day before being installed outside the French Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, DC, on Bastille Day (July 14).
Paris, Le Havre, New York, Ellis Island, Washington, DC
Crafted by a French foundry using the lost-wax method, this more diminutive version of the Statue of Liberty was uninstalled today during a small ceremony at the Cnam, where it had been on display at the entrance, welcoming guests for the past 10 years. The 1,000-pound statue will be placed into a specially designed plexiglass case before being put into a dedicated, branded shipping container.
On June 19, the statue will board the CMA CGM TOSCA (an 8,500 TEU shipping vessel) in Le Havre. It will then travel by sea, reaching New York City after a nine-day Atlantic crossing.
It will be on display on Ellis Island from July 1-5, joining its full-scale sibling to celebrate Independence Day thanks to a cooperation agreement with the Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation and the National Park Service.
It will then be transported by road by CEVA Logistics, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, to its final destination – the French Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, DC – where it will be unveiled on Bastille Day as a symbol of the strong, enduring French-American friendship.
A symbol of freedom enlightening the world
The arrival of the new Lady Liberty will celebrate the most central value of the French-American partnership: freedom.
The technological, artistic, and logistical challenges that had to be overcome to bring this new statue to America tell a modern tale of successful international cooperation.
An extraordinary voyage to follow live
To celebrate this unique voyage and the friendship between France and the United States, visit https://franceintheus.org/ViveLaLiberty
Follow #ViveLaLiberty on the social media platforms of the Embassy of France, Cnam and CMA CGM. And on the French Embassy’s Instagram (@franceintheus), participate in a creative contest until July 1st to win a LEGO® Architecture Statue of Liberty, a France-Amerique magazine subscription, an Albertine Books membership and more gifts!
Save the date(s)!
June 7: Ceremony at the Musée des Arts et Métiers – Cnam in Paris marking the statue’s official departure
June 7: Launch of the #ViveLaLiberty Instagram Contest on @franceintheUS
June 19: The statue sets sail from Le Havre on board CMA CGM TOSCA
June 20-July 1: Follow the statue’s Atlantic crossing live
July 1: Inauguration on Ellis Island (attendance restricted due to COVID-19)
July 1-5: Statue on public display on Ellis Island
July 14: Statue’s inauguration in the garden of the French Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, DC (attendance restricted due to COVID-19)
- "Vive La Liberty!" Press Release in English
- (PDF - 970.2 kb)