Latest news with #RaphaëlGlucksmann
LeMonde
28-05-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann: 'I will not take part in a primary' for the 2027 presidential election
As left-wing and Green leaders call for a primary to pick a joint candidate for the 2027 French presidential election, Member of the European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann rejected this strategy – just like Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the radical-left party, La France Insoumise (LFI). The founder of the Socialist-allied Place Publique movement, who came in third – and on top on the left – in the 2024 European elections, does not want to suggest that LFI's platform could be reconciled with his own project, which he will begin to present on June 23. He gave Le Monde a preview.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Yes, French politician suggested US should return Statue of Liberty
Claim: French politician Raphaël Glucksmann said the United States should return the Statue of Liberty to France. Rating: Context: Though the claim that Glucksmann said the U.S. should give the Statue of Liberty back to France is true, it does not appear that it was meant to be taken literally. In mid-March 2025, a claim spread widely online that a French politician asked the United States to hand the iconic Statue of Liberty — that has been on display in New York Harbor for roughly 140 years — back to France. Social media users on BlueSky (archived), Facebook (archived) and Instagram (archived) shared the rumor and attributed the demand to a French politician named Raphaël Glucksmann, who co-founded the French left-leaning political party Place Publique in 2018. He currently serves as the party's copresident. Snopes readers also flooded our inbox with inquiries about the alleged request. In short, the claim that Glucksmann said the U.S. should give the Statue of Liberty back to France is accurate and was covered by major news media outlets like The Associated Press (AP), CNN, Axios and NPR. Glucksmann's demand occurred during a speech at a Place Publique convention held in Paris on March 15 and 16, which is available to watch on YouTube in both the original French and partially translated into English. With a visible smirk, 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." The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French celebrating the centennial anniversary of the U.S. gaining independence from Britain and was officially dedicated on Oct. 28, 1886. Lady Liberty was designated a national monument in 1924 according to the National Park Service. Asked about Glucksmann's comments during a news briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shot back, saying the U.S. would "absolutely not" be returning the monument to France. She added: "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. So they should be very grateful to our great country." Leavitt's comments allude to the United States being allies with France during both world wars, including the role the U.S. played in liberating France from Nazi occupation during World War II. Glucksmann subsequently posted a thread on X (archived) explaining his intentions behind the statement and his response to Leavitt's comments. The posts read: Dear Americans, Since the White House press secretary is attacking me today, I wanted to tell you this. 1. Our two people are intimately linked by History, the blood we shed and the passion for freedom we share, a passion symbolized by this Statue that was offered to the United States by France to honor your glorious Revolution. 2. As the press secretary for this shameful Administration said: without your nation, France would have "spoken German." In my case, it goes further: I would simply not be here if hundreds of thousands of young Americans had not landed on our beaches in Normandy. 3. Our gratitude to these heroes and their sacrifices is therefore eternal. 4. But the America of these heroes fought against tyrants, it did not flatter them. It was the enemy of fascism, not the friend of Putin. It helped the resistance and didn't attack Zelensky. 5. It celebrated science and didn't fire researchers for using banned words. It welcomed the persecuted and didn't target them. It was far, so far from what your current President does, says, and embodies. 6. This America, faithful to the wonderful words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, your America, is worth so much more than the betrayal of Ukraine and Europe, xenophobia, or obscurantism. 7. We all in Europe love this nation to which we know we owe so much. It will rise again. You will rise again. We are counting on you. 8. And it is precisely because I am petrified by Trumps betrayal that I said yesterday in a rally that we could symbolically take back the Statue of Liberty if your government despised everything it symbolizes in your eyes, ours, and those of the world. It was a wake up call. 9. No one, of course, will come and steal the Statue of Liberty. The statue is yours. But what it embodies belongs to everyone. And if the free world no longer interests your government, then we will take up the torch, here in Europe. 10. Until we meet again in the fight for freedom and dignity, we will be the continuators of our shared history and the protectors of our treasure: more than a statue of copper and steel, the freedom it symbolizes. Though the claim that Glucksmann said the U.S. should give the Statue of Liberty back to France is true, it does not appear that it was meant to be taken literally. As the AP noted, there is no chance it could happen anyway. The news agency wrote: "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." A war of words regarding the Statue of Liberty is one of the latest rumors that Snopes has investigated pertaining to the Trump administration's relations with other countries. For example, we have debunked the claim that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told Trump the U.S. should stop electing "rapists and criminals" and we have fact-checked whether Trump said on Truth Social that he would annex Alaska and Greenland. City, Mailing Address: Receiving Office 1. Ellis Island Jersey, and NJ 07305 Phone: 212 363-3200 Contact Us. Creating the Statue of Liberty - Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service). Accessed 18 Mar. 2025. "Congrès Place Publique – Rendez-Vous Les 15 et 16 Mars 2025." Place Publique, 26 Feb. 2025, Détail d'une Annonce | Associations — Journal Officiel. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025. ""Elle sera très bien ici, chez nous": Raphaël Glucksmann demande aux Américains de rendre la statue de la Liberté." Figaro Live, 16 Mar. 2025, "From France Comes a Call for Trump's America to Return Lady Liberty. Here's Why It Won't Happen." AP News, 17 Mar. 2025, "Notre Organisation." Place Publique, Accessed 18 Mar. 2025. 'Raphaël Glucksmann'. Place Publique, Accessed 18 Mar. 2025. 'The Liberation of Paris'. The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, 25 Aug. 2023, Treisman, Rachel. "Does the U.S. Deserve the Statue of Liberty? Not Anymore, One French Politician Says." NPR, 18 Mar. 2025. NPR, YouTube. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025. ---. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.
Axios
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
U.S. rejects French politician's call to return Statue of Liberty
The White House on Monday sharply rejected a tongue-in-cheek call from a French politician to return the Statue of Liberty to France. Why it matters: Raphaël Glucksmann, a French European Parliament member, quipped this weekend that the Trump administration's values didn't align with those represented by the statue. The latest: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing Monday that the U.S. would "absolutely not" return the iconic statue. "My advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them thatit's only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now," she added, referring to the German occupation of France during World War II. "So they should be very grateful to our great country." State of play: The rhetorical furor kicked off when Glucksmann called for the statue's return at a party convention Sunday. "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," Glucksmann said. "'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.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
People Are Snickering Over A French Politician Wanting The Statue Of Liberty Back
Welp, nearly 140 years after gifting the Statue of Liberty to the United States, a French politician said we ought to give it back. Yes, MEP and president of a left-wing party in France, Raphaël Glucksmann was speaking to supporters when he reportedly 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.'" Thierry Monasse / Getty Images, Nisian Hughes / Getty Images News of this statement quickly spread across the ocean and made it to American timelines. Two tweets sharing the assertion went viral on X, collectively gaining about 10 million views — and a FLOOD of comments — in less than 24 hours. Here's how Americans are reacting: While we can't endorse what X has become, we can bring you the worthwhile moments that still exist there, curated and free of the surrounding chaos. Bravo / Twitter: @j0vintage Now — is it likely that France will really take back the Statue of Liberty? No. This was a comment made by a singular politician. Regardless, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has already shot back when asked about the possibility of President Donald Trump returning the statue. "Absolutely not," she said during a press briefing. "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. So they should be very grateful to our great country." SO! What are your thoughts on the situation? Let us know in the comments.
Washington Post
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
From France comes a call for Trump's America to return Lady Liberty. Here's why it won't happen
PARIS — 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.
