PARIS (AP) — Hey, America: Give the Statue of Liberty back to France.
So says a French politician who is making headlines in his country for suggesting that the U.S. is no longer worthy of the monument that was a gift from France nearly 140 years ago.
As a member of the European Parliament and co-president of a small left-wing party in France, Raphaël Glucksmann cannot claim to speak for all of his compatriots.
But his assertion in a speech this weekend that some Americans “have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants” reflects the broad shockwaves that U.S. President Donald Trump's seismic shifts in foreign and domestic policy are triggering in France and elsewhere in Europe.
“Give us back the Statue of Liberty,” Glucksmann said, speaking Sunday to supporters of his Public Place party, who applauded and whistled.
“It was our gift to you. But apparently you despise her. So she will be happy here with us,” Glucksmann said.
The White House brushed back on the comments Monday, saying France instead should still be “grateful” for U.S. support during World War I and World War II.
Dream on.
UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural arm that has the statue on its list of World Heritage treasures, notes that the iconic monument is U.S. government property.
It was initially envisaged as a monumental gesture of French-American friendship to mark the 100th anniversary of the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence.
But a war that erupted in 1870 between France and German states led by Prussia diverted the energies of the monument's designer, French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi.
The gift also took time to be funded, with a decision taken that the French would pay for the statue and Americans would cover the costs of its pedestal.
Transported in 350 pieces from France, the statue was officially unveiled Oct. 28, 1886.
No. French-U.S. relations would have to drop off a cliff before Glucksmann found support from French President Emmanuel Macron's government.
For the moment, the French president is treading a fine line — trying to work with Trump and temper some of his policy shifts on the one hand but also pushing back hard against some White House decisions, notably Trump's tariff hikes.
Macron has let his prime minister, François Bayrou, play the role of being a more critical voice. Bayrou tore into the “brutality” that was shown to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his White House visit and suggested that Trump's administration risked handing victory to Russia when it paused military aid to Ukraine.
Glucksmann's party has been even more critical, posting accusations on its website that Trump is wielding power in an “authoritarian” manner and is “preparing to deliver Ukraine on a silver platter” to Russia.
In his speech, Glucksmann referenced New York poet Emma Lazarus' words about the statue, the “mighty woman with a torch” who promised a home for the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
“Today, this land is ceasing to be what it was,” Glucksmann said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Monday about Glucksmann's comments, and responded that the U.S. would “absolutely not” be parting with the iconic statue.
“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," Leavitt said, apparently referencing the U.S. fight with allied powers to free France from Nazi occupation in World War II and alongside France during World War I. "They should be very grateful.”
But the debt of gratitude runs both ways. Leavitt skipped past France's key role in supporting the future United States during its war for independence from the United Kingdom.
Leavitt is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
FILE - Raphael Glucksmann at the European Parliament Tuesday, March 11, 2025 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien, file)
FILE - The Statue of Liberty is seen from the Staten Island Ferry, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith, file)
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, Germany & BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 18, 2025--
LUMENION has successfully completed the test operation of a plant for the supply of "green steam" in combination with a large-scale thermal storage solution. The completion of this LUMENION solution marks an important milestone on the way to a decarbonized industry. The TÜV-certified system is available for applications in all industrial sectors.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250318462006/en/
LUMENION's thermal energy storage system uses a few hours of electricity supply to charge and to store energy in the form of heat of up to 600° Celsius. The energy can be charged flexibly at intervals throughout the day and is made available to customers in the form of steam or process heat over longer periods of time. Ideally, cheap electricity is obtained from the client's own renewable energy sources or during attractive time slots in the electricity market, which reduces the need for fossil fuels and allows production processes to be electrified cost-effectively. Due to the high charging flexibility of the storage system, energy demand can also be controlled in a smart and optimized way.
Measured by the storage volume of 20 MWh and the maturity of the technology, the plant in Schleswig-Holstein is unique, pioneering worldwide and highly scalable thanks to its modular design. The construction, from the foundations to test operation, was completed in just one year. The technology is ready for use also on a larger scale in all industrial sectors that rely on process heat or steam.
"The successful practical application of producing CO2-free steam for a major food producer with the help of our thermal storage system is an important milestone for LUMENION and the entire industry," says Peter Kordt, CEO of LUMENION: "The flawless implementation is impressive proof of the potential of this technology."
Jobst Hoyningen-Huene, CEO and co-founder of econnext AG, explains: "This solution for CO2-free process steam offers a practicable and immediately available way to advance the decarbonization of industry on a large scale and at high speed. The solution is highly attractive economically at many locations. It also offers clients the possibility of decoupling from strongly fluctuating costs for fossil fuels and rising CO2 pricing, especially when using their own renewable energy sources due to the large storage facility and thus securing the costs of steam production at an attractive level in the long term. With this application, LUMENION can therefore offer industrial customers a genuine 'green discount solution'.”
Significant parts of industry that rely on temperature requirements of up to 450° Celsius or process steam can reduce their fossil energy consumption and electrify their production processes cost-effectively by using this solution. LUMENION is systematically driving the development of these pioneering decarbonization solutions to support the energy transition - including "Heat-as-a-Service" contracts - and sees enormous market potential for their broad industrial application.
About LUMENION:
LUMENION is a leading company in the field of sustainable energy solutions and specializes in the development and implementation of thermal energy storage systems (TES) that store wind and solar energy as high-temperature heat and thus supply customers around the clock with green process heat/steam and optionally with electricity (combined heat and power, "CHP" concept).
While the system discharges and provides heat evenly around the clock, it can be charged simultaneously and quickly (typically in 4-6 hours). All core materials are fully recyclable, available worldwide and have a decades-long economic life. LUMENION has been part of the econnext Group since 2018.
https://lumenion.com
About econnext AG:
Founded in 2016, econnext AG is the parent company of a diversified group of ClimateTech companies with a focus on decarbonization and the circular economy. econnext holds majority stakes in Autarq (solar roof tiles), Circular Carbon (CDR technology for renewable heat and biochar from waste materials), ESG Screen17 (sustainability screening for investment portfolios), FLAXTEC (solar module recycling, among other circular economy technologies), GRIPS Energy (renewable energy supply worldwide) and LUMENION (renewable process heating and cooling with energy storage) as well as a minority stake in Ambibox (e-mobility and decentralized energy systems).
https://econnext.eu
LUMENION TES
