Miniature Statue of Liberty replica unveiled in DC

BY CAROLINE VAKIL
Following a brief stint in New York City, a second Statue of Liberty has found a permanent home in front of the French ambassador’s home in Washington, D.C. for the next 10 years.
An inauguration ceremony was held on Wednesday for the original statue’s “little sister” with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, marking over 135 years since the first Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York. The inauguration on Wednesday coincides with Bastille Day.
During remarks on Wednesday, Blinken said that “the United States has no greater or more enduring ally than France.” He spoke about the two countries’ efforts to work closely together in initiatives such as “revitalizing and modernizing NATO” and “deepening our cooperation with the European Union.”
France’s National Museum of Arts and Crafts (CNAM) loaned the nine-foot bronze replica to the U.S. It was made in 2009 and had been on display at the museum’s gardens since 2011. The statue made a pit stop to New York City so it could be there during the Fourth of July.