US ‘should give the Statue of Liberty back to France after Donald Trump’s actions’

Mass firings across the government have raised more than a few eyebrows (Pictures: Getty)

At the feet of the Statue of Liberty, an inscription reads: ‘Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’

Now, 140 years after the famous green lady was gifted to America from France, a lawmaker has suggested it’s time the US gives it back.

MEP Raphaël Glucksmann said: ‘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.”

‘We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home,’ he added.

Glucksmann went on to suggest that France would welcome the government researchers and employees who were fired en masse under the new administration.

‘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,’ he said.

Statue of Liberty with Brooklyn Bridge, Skyscrapers of Manhattan Lower East Side Financial District, World Trade Center, FDR Drive, Pier 17, Brooklyn Bridge Park and Blue Morning Sky with Puffy Clouds in background, New York City, USA. Canon EOS 6D (full frame sensor) DSLR and Canon EF 24-105mm F/4L IS lens.
The statue was first unveiled in 1885 (Picture: Getty)

The idea for the statue was originally conceived by French politician and US Constitution expert Edouard de Laboulaye as an emblem of the friendship between the French and the Americans and a sign of their mutual desire for liberty.

It was then sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi as a symbol of liberty, justice and democracy.

It took twenty years to build, before it was dismantled and shipped to New York from France. Americans paid for the stone pedestal Lady Liberty stands on today, but the statue itself was a gift from the French.

However, it has taken on other symbolism over the years, having greeted millions of immigrants to the US shores and being seen as their symbol of hope and opportunity for a better life there.

The Statue of Liberty towering over rooftops in Paris after it was first completed in 1884. TODAY we know the Statue of Liberty as the iconic sculpture that stands at 305 feet tall in New York City. But before the statue was gifted to the US from France in 1885, she had spent several years being exhibited across the world IN PIECES. These are the remarkable unearthed photographs which reveal the little-known history of one of the world?s most celebrated sculptures. The images show the unmistakeable head of the Statue of Liberty on display in Paris, France as well as her disembodied arm and torch exhibited in Philadelphia and Madison Square Park, Manhattan. When the colossal Statue of Liberty was unveiled in Liberty Island in New York Harbor, New York on 28th October 1886, she immediately became the tallest structure in the city. But for many years before that, the construction of Lady Liberty hung in the balance and the statue was displayed in its various disembodied parts in a desperate bid to raise money for her completion. ... SEE COPY ? PIC BY NEWS DOG MEDIA ... 0121 517 0019 ... pictures@newsdogmedia.co.uk
It was constructed in Paris before being dismantled and shipped (Picture: News Dog Media)

Its official website also explains that the torch held by the Statue of Liberty lights the way to freedom, showing us the path to liberty.

The current torch on the statue was replaced in 1986, and reflects the sun’s rays in the daytime, while at night time it is lit by 16 floodlights.

Meanwhile, the Statue’s left hand holds a tablet of law which is inscribed with the date of American Independence – July 4, 1776.

It measures 151 feet high and is covered in sheets of copper, which eventually turned bright green due to oxidation from moisture.

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