The Flame of Liberty in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 is a full-sized, gold-leaf-covered, replica of the new flame at the upper end of the torch carried in the hand of the Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...

 at the entrance to the harbor of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 since 1986. The monument, which measures approximately 3.5 metres in height, is a sculpture of a flame, executed in gilded copper, supported by a pedestal of gray-and-black marble. It is located near the northern end of the Pont de l'Alma

Pont de l'Alma

Pont de l'Alma is an arch bridge in Paris, crossing the Seine. It was named to commemorate the Battle of Alma during the Crimean War, in which the Franco-British alliance achieved victory over the Russian army on September 20, 1854....

, on the Place de l'Alma, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

.

It was offered to the city of Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in 1989 by the International Herald Tribune

International Herald Tribune

The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...

 on behalf of donors who had contributed approximately $400,000 for its fabrication. It represented the culmination of that newspaper's 1987 celebration of its hundredth anniversary of publishing an English-language daily newspaper in Paris. More importantly, the Flame was a token of thanks for the restoration work on the Statue of Liberty accomplished three years earlier by two French businesses that did artisanal work on the project: namely, Métalliers Champenois, which did the bronze work, and the Gohard Studios, which applied the gold leaf. While the gift to France was prompted by the centennial of the newspaper, the Flame of Liberty, more broadly, is a lasting symbol of the friendship uniting the two countries, just as the statue itself was, when it was given to the United States by France.

This project was overseen by the director of the French craft unions at that time, Jacques Graindorge. He foresaw an installation of the Flame of Liberty in a public square called Place des États-Unis

Place des États-Unis

The Place des États-Unis is a public space in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, about 500 m south of the Place de l'Etoile and the Arc de Triomphe....

 (United States Place) in the 16th arrondissement, but the then mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac

Jacques Chirac

Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...

, was opposed to it. After a protracted period of "give-and-take", it was decided that the Flame would be placed in an open area near the intersection of l'Avenue de New-York (New York Avenue) and la Place de l'Alma. The monument was dedicated on May 10, 1989 by Jacques Chirac.

On the base of the monument, a commemorative plaque recounts the following story:

"The Flame of Liberty. An exact replica of the Statue of Liberty's flame offered to the people of France by donors throughout the world as a symbol of the Franco-American friendship. On the occasion of the centennial of the International Herald Tribune. Paris 1887-1987."

The flame became an unofficial memorial for Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...

 after her 1997 death in the tunnel beneath the Pont de l'Alma. The flame became an attraction for tourists and followers of Diana, who fly-posted

Flyposting

Flyposting is a guerilla marketing tactic through the act of placing advertising posters or flyers in legal or illegal places. In the United States, these posters are known as bandit signs, snipe signs, or street spam. Posters are adhered to construction site barricades, building facades, in...

 the base with commemorative material. Anthropologist Guy Lesoeurs said, "Most people who come here think this was built for her."

The site of the monument is served by the Métro de Paris subway station called Alma-Marceau on Line No. 9 and by the RER commuter rail station, Pont de l'Alma, on its 'C' Line, as well as by buses numbered 42, 63, 72, 80, 92, and the Balabus sightseeing buses.

A new Flame of Liberty, a sculpture by Jean Cardot

Jean Cardot

Jean Cardot is a French sculptor, born in Saint-Etienne, France.He was elected member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts on November 9, 1983 and president in 1992 and 1997...

, was unveiled on June 14, 2008. It symbolizes the warm and respectful relations between the French and the Americans. It was installed in the gardens of the United States Embassy to France

Embassy of the United States in Paris

The Embassy of the United States in Paris, France, is the United States oldest diplomatic mission. Benjamin Franklin and some of the other Founding Fathers were the earliest United States Ambassadors to France.It is located at 2 avenue Gabriel, on the northwest corner of the Place de la Concorde,...

 in the Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde

The Place de la Concorde in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.- History :...

, and it was dedicated in the presence of the President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....

, and George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

. This new flame is the embodiment of an impulse shared by French businessman, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, and the American ambassador, Craig Roberts Stapleton

Craig Roberts Stapleton

Craig Roberts Stapleton is a former United States ambassador to France and the Czech Republic.-Biography:Stapleton was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His grandfather, Benjamin F. Stapleton, was a politician who served five terms as mayor of Denver. He received his secondary school education at...

, and it displays two inscriptions, one by the Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette, and another by the American statesman, Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

.