A French member of the European Parliament made headlines for saying the United States should return the Statue of Liberty to France.

“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,'” center-left politician Raphaël Glucksmann said, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.

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

Per Le Monde:

The Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York City’s harbour on October 28, 1886, for the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence as a gift from the French people to America. It was designed by Frenchman Auguste Bartholdi. Paris does have a far smaller copy of the statue on a small island on the Seine in Paris.

Glucksmann, a staunch defender of Ukraine, has strongly criticized President Donald Trump’s radical change of US policy on the war. He also took aim at Trump’s cuts to US research institutions, which have already prompted a French government initiative to attract some of them to work in France.

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“The second thing we’re going to say to the Americans is: ‘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,'” continued Glucksmann.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January, his government has cut federal research funding and sought to dismiss hundreds of federal workers working on health and climate research.

“There is now a member of the European Parliament from France who does not think the U.S. represents the values of the Statue of Liberty anymore. They want the Statue of Liberty back. So is President Trump going to send the Statue of Liberty back to France?” Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“Absolutely not. 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 responded.

WATCH:

From the New York Post:

Glucksmann criticized right-wing members of France’s parliament, whom he called a “fan club” for Trump as well as Tesla CEO and world’s richest man Elon Musk, who has taken on a highly visible role in the administration.

Lady Liberty was designed by French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi and given to the US as a gift from France. It was unveiled in Upper New York Bay in 1886 in a dedication ceremony by then-President Grover Cleveland. The beloved statue has since become one of the US’ most enduring symbols and a beacon of freedom the world over.

The Statue of Liberty weighs about 450,000 pounds and stands 305 feet tall, including her star-shaped granite pedestal.

A 1/4-scale replica of Lady Liberty — given to France by the US in 1889 to mark 100 years since the French Revolution — can be found on Allée des Cygnes, a narrow island on the Seine River not far from the Eiffel Tower.

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