<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hey, America: Give the Statue of Liberty back to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/france" rel="" target="_blank" title="France"><span>France</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So says a French politician who is making headlines in his country for suggesting that the US is no longer worthy of the monument that was a gift from France nearly 140 years ago.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/court-puts-a-temporary-hold-on-releasing-records-related-to-the-deaths-of-gene-hackman-and-his-wife/86371b7a-7259-49ce-af85-df26e4e20c1c" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Possibly shocking': Court twist in death of Gene Hackman and his wife</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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 US President Donald Trump's seismic shifts in foreign and domestic policy are triggering in France and elsewhere in Europe.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Give us back the Statue of Liberty," Glucksmann said, speaking Sunday to supporters of his Public Place party, who applauded and whistled.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was our gift to you. But apparently you despise her. So she will be happy here with us," Glucksmann said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/statue-of-liberty-french-politician-calls-for-monument-to-be-returned-to-france/bc48962c-5e9e-42f5-9717-1fcca42c17d1" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The White House brushed back on the comments Monday, saying France instead should still be "grateful" for US support during World War I and World War II.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Can France claim it back?</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dream on.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural arm that has the statue on its list of World Heritage treasures, notes that the iconic monument is US government property.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/search-for-us-student-in-dominican-republic-intensifies-with-witness-account/24304920-4390-4bc3-afcc-131d314c3e7a" target="_blank"><strong><span>Search for US student in Dominican Republic intensifies with witness account</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Transported in 350 pieces from France, the statue was officially unveiled October 28, 1886.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Is France's government offering asylum to Lady Liberty?</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>No. French-US relations would have to drop off a cliff before Glucksmann found support from French President Emmanuel Macron's government.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/heavy-rain-potential-floods-tropical-north-queensland-continues/10ad0dd6-66dc-40cb-8853-e9e6b766bfd9" target="_blank"><strong><span>Queensland warned of floods with triple-digit falls forecast</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/03/18/05/49/today-in-history-march-18-what-happened-on-this-day-in-pictures"><img alt="March 18" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/vRPw18Fidr_P3TjlOW2YXJEf9-w=/0x0:1395x785/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F87b4c8c8-1666-45e1-8423-32e262dc5c95" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/vRPw18Fidr_P3TjlOW2YXJEf9-w=/0x0:1395x785/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F87b4c8c8-1666-45e1-8423-32e262dc5c95 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/GlKJn1kZ1jf-m6-Hx7EOhIrzvbc=/0x0:1395x785/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F87b4c8c8-1666-45e1-8423-32e262dc5c95 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">The world's biggest $780 million art heist has never been solved</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/03/18/05/49/today-in-history-march-18-what-happened-on-this-day-in-pictures">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Today, this land is ceasing to be what it was," Glucksmann said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>What is the White House saying?</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Monday about Glucksmann's comments, and responded that the US would "absolutely not" be parting with the iconic statue.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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 US fight with allied powers to free France from Nazi occupation in World War II and alongside France during World War I.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They should be very grateful."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the debt of gratitude runs both ways. Leavitt skipped past France's key role in supporting the future US during its war for independence from the United Kingdom.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Leavitt is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-Amendment grounds.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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