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Vive La Liberty !

Vive La Liberty !

Published on June 4, 2021
Lady Liberty’s “Little Sister” Leaving Paris to Visit New York and Washington, D.C.

★ 135 years after "Liberty Enlightening the World" was unveiled on Liberty Island, another Statue of Liberty is set to cross the Atlantic.

★ The Embassy of France in the United States, the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (Cnam) and the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, have joined forces to celebrate freedom and French-American friendship by bringing Lady Liberty’s “little sister” to America.

★ The 9-foot-tall bronze statue—crafted from the original 1878 plaster model by Auguste Bartholdi and previously on view at Paris’s Musée des Arts et Métiers—will be displayed on Ellis Island on Independence Day before being installed outside the French Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, DC, on Bastille Day (July 14).

The Embassy of France in the United States, the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (Cnam) and the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, are partnering to bring another emblematic treasure and symbol of freedom to the United States. Arriving in New York City for Independence Day and in Washington, D.C. for Bastille Day, the 9-foot, bronze statue of Lady Liberty is was made from the original plaster model of 1878 by Auguste Bartholdi, currently exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris.

Paris, Le Havre, New York, Ellis Island, Washington, D.C.

Crafted by a French foundry using the lost-wax method, this more diminutive version of the Statue of Liberty was uninstalled on June 7 during a small ceremony at the Cnam, where it had been on display at the entrance, welcoming guests for the past 10 years. The 1,000-pound statue will be placed into a specially designed plexiglass case before being put into a dedicated, branded shipping container. On June 19, the statue will board the CMA CGM TOSCA (an 8,500 TEU shipping vessel) in Le Havre. It will then travel by sea, reaching New York City after a nine-day Atlantic crossing. It will be on display on Ellis Island from July 1-5, joining its full-scale sibling to celebrate Independence Day thanks to a cooperation agreement with the Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation and the National Park Service. It will then be transported by road by CEVA Logistics, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, to its final destination—the French Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, DC—where it will be unveiled on Bastille Day as a symbol of the strong, enduring French-American friendship.

A symbol of freedom enlightening the world

The arrival of the new Lady Liberty will celebrate the most central value of the French-American partnership: freedom. The technological, artistic, and logistical challenges that had to be overcome to bring this new statue to America tell a modern tale of successful international cooperation.

An extraordinary voyage to follow live

To celebrate this unique voyage and the friendship between France and the United States, follow #ViveLaLiberty on the social media platforms of the Embassy of France, Cnam and CMA CGM. And on the French Embassy’s Instagram (@franceintheus), participate in a creative contest until July 1st to win a LEGO® Architecture Statue of Liberty, a France-Amerique magazine subscription, an Albertine Books membership and more gifts!

  Little Lady Liberty: France Is Sending The U.S. A Second, Smaller Statue Of Liberty
 
  France Sends the U.S. Another, Smaller Statue of Liberty
 
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To celebrate the arrival of the statue, the Cultural Services of the Embassy of France in the United States organized a virtual roundtable, followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Watch our French-American panel discussion: "The Statue of Liberty – the renewal of a symbol."

Introduction by Philippe Etienne, Ambassador of France to the United States

With:
Lonnie G. Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Edward Berenson, Professor of history at New York University and NYU's Institute of French studies
Olivier Faron, General Administrator of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
Pap Ndiaye, Director of the Musée National de l'Histoire de l'Immigration

moderated by:
Philip Kennicott, Art and architecture critic of the Washington Post

June 7

★ Ceremony at the Musée des Arts et Métiers – Cnam in Paris marking the statue’s official departure

★ Launching of the #ViveLaLiberty Instagram Contest on @franceintheUS

June 23

★ The statue sets sail from Le Havre on board CMA CGM NERVAL

June 23 - JuNE 30

★ Follow the statue’s Atlantic crossing live HERE

July 1

★ Inauguration on Ellis Island (attendance restricted due to Covid-19)

July 1 - 6

★ Statue on public display on Ellis Island

July 14

★ Statue’s inauguration in the garden of the French Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, DC (attendance restricted due to Covid-19)

Time to get ready for the long journey ahead! Here's a timelapse made by The Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris on June 7, 2021.

Show the French your take on the Statue of Liberty!

To celebrate the arrival of #Liberty2021, the Embassy of France and the French Cultural Services in the U.S. invite a nationwide audience to participate in the #ViveLaLiberty contest!

Through July 1st, the Instagram account of the Embassy of France (@franceintheus) invites creatives, francophiles, and fans to share a work inspired by the Statue of Liberty with a text of up to 350 characters of why their work should be chosen!

Ingenuity is encouraged and can take many creative forms like drawings, paintings, songs, poems, sculptures, and dance! TOP 10 nominees for the Grand Prix will be selected for public voting on Instagram on July 5 through July 11. Nominees will automatically receive a personalized note from the French Ambassador to the U.S, Philippe Etienne. On July 12, just two days before Bastille Day, Grand Prix Winner(s) will be chosen by the jury and win incredible prizes from the LEGO® group, France-Amérique Magazine, Albertine Books and the FrancoFiles Podcast.

Follow @franceintheus for more information and rules of how to enter the contest. The #ViveLaLiberty contest will run entirely from June 7 - July 12.

Here’s how to become a #ViveLaLiberty Grand Prix winner:

🗽 Create a work that showcases the Statue of Liberty or the ideals of liberty.

🗽 Submit your work via Instagram Direct Message (DM) to @franceintheus before July 1st.

🗽 Include a short description of why we should choose your work (in less than 350 characters).

[ !!! For extra visibility, post your masterpiece on your public profile with the hashtag #ViveLaLiberty for a chance to be featured on our feed. ]


Timeline

#ViveLaLiberty Submissions: June 7 - July 1, 2021

Voting opens: July 5 - July 11

Grand Prix winner(s) announcement: July 12


Prizes

All top 10 nominees selected by the jury will receive a personalized note from French Ambassador, Philippe Etienne.

The grand prix winner(s) will additionally win the Prize Pack (Estimated Value: $350) which includes:

 

Embassy of France in the United States

The Embassy of France in Washington, DC, is the headquarters of French diplomacy in the United States. There are also 10 Consulates General in the following American cities: Washington, DC, New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta.
The French diplomatic network in the United States is dedicated to promoting French-American friendship and facilitating bridges between our two cultures.

★ Media Contact: Pascal Confavreux - pascal.confavreux@diplomatie.gouv.fr - Elise Giraud - elise.giraud@diplomatie.gouv.fr
★ Follow the Embassy of France and its 10 consulates on: franceintheus.org / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Linkedin / YouTube

 
 

Cnam

The Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (Cnam) is the only French establishment of higher education dedicated to lifelong professional training. Cnam has three missions: advanced professional training, technological research and innovation, and the dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge. This establishment offers training programs developed in close coordination with businesses and professional organizations in order to better meet their needs and those of their employees. It oversees a network of 20 regional centers and more than 200 training facilities.

★ cnam.fr

 
 

Musée des Arts et Métiers

The Musée des Arts et Métiers is one of the world’s oldest technical and industrial museums. Its history is closely connected with that of the Cnam, being one of its components. Since 1794, its collections have been enriched by numerous contributions – invaluable evidence of the evolution in scientific knowledge and technical progress. The museum houses an outstanding collection, remarkable both in size (some 80,000 items and 15,000 drawings) and in the diversity of its themes. It displays nearly 2,500 items that reflect the most varied facets of the history of science and technology.

★ Media Contact: Amélie Zanetti - amelie.zanetti@lecnam.net
★ arts-et-metiers.net

 
 

CMA CGM

Headed by Rodolphe Saadé, the CMA CGM Group is a world leader in shipping and logistics.
Its 561 vessels serve more than 420 ports around the world, on all five continents. In 2020, they transported nearly 21 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers. With CEVA Logistics, a world leader in logistics services, CMA CGM handles 400,000 tons of airfreight and 2.8 million tons of inland freight every year. CMA CGM is constantly innovating to offer customers new maritime, inland and logistics solutions. Present on every continent and in 160 countries through its network of more than 400 offices and 750 warehouses, the Group employs more than 110,000 people worldwide, of which 2,400 are in Marseille where its head office is located, and 12,000 in the United-States.

★ Media Contact: Olivier Pedro-Jose [France] - media@cma-cgm.com - Amber Leonard [Etats-Unis] - usa.aleonard@usa.cma-cgm.com - Ryan Fischer [CEVA Logistics] - ryan.fisher@evalogistics.com
★ Follow the CMA CGM Group on: cmacgm-group.com / Twitter / Linkedin / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

We have shared a "Vive La Liberty" folder on our Google drive with partners and journalists.
As events unfold, we will expand it with the latest pictures, illustrations and videos.
Press releases in English and French and all details about our Instagram contest are also available.

Please click on the map below for more details.

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